Speaking to the tennis channel on Monday, Andreeva said: “I was listening to an interview with LeBron James and he was saying that even if you don’t play your 100% or even if you don’t feel you’re 100% physically, I’m going to choose to be 100% mentally.
“He said that’s what makes us champions, so I kind of tried to do the same. It didn’t really work in the beginning, but in the end, I managed to overcome that to really go for my shots and act like one of the legends.”
James – a four-time NBA champion, four-time MVP and the league’s all-time leading scorer – congratulated Andreeva and insisted all the credit belongs to her.
The 17-year-old Andreeva beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday’s final to become the youngest woman since Martina Hingis in 1997 to win back-to-back WTA 1000 (previously Tier I) titles after also picking up the trophy at the Dubai Championships two weeks ago.
Andreeva had to come from behind after being crushed 6-2 by Sabalenka in an opening set in which she won fewer than half of her service points.