Mirra Andreeva's speech after her title at Indian Wells: "I thank myself for always believing in me and never giving up"

Mirra Andreeva, who had already made a splash on the WTA tour last year by reaching the semifinals at Roland-Garros, has definitely reached a new level this season by winning two consecutive WTA 1000 titles, including Indian Wells this Sunday.

The new world No. 6 (she will officially be ranked tomorrow) gave a very heartfelt speech during the trophy ceremony:

"First of all, congratulations to Aryna and her team, you played incredible tennis during these two weeks. I am sure you have a lot of good things to take away from this tournament, and I wish you the best for the rest of the season.

Thank you to everyone who makes the organization of this tournament possible, it has been amazing to play here every day, I felt very comfortable. And thank you to everyone who came to watch our final today.

Thank you to my team. […] Conchita (Martinez), I know that sometimes things can be tough. And today was no exception.

I know I was, as you like to say, a little rascal this morning, but that was because I was very nervous. I’m sorry for that, and I don’t think I would be here without you.

To finish, I would like to thank myself for fighting until the end, for always believing in myself, and for never giving up. I ran like a rabbit on the court because Aryna was firing cannonballs at me, and it was hard to keep up with the pace."