16-year-old Mirra Andreeva stages sensational comeback win to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open... as idol Andy Murray leaps to her defence after commentator questioned her mental strength

Mirra Andreeva saved a match point and came from 5-1 down in the final setShe served to win the match but was broken and forced to play out a tie breakAndy Murray defended her after a commentator criticised her mental strength

Teenager Mirra Andreeva staged a sensational comeback to keep her Australian Open dream alive in beating Diane Parry in the third round.

The 16-year-old was 5-1 down in the deciding set having lost the first 6-1 and then won the second by the same score, and had to save a match point on her serve to stay in the game.

She then clicked into gear and won six of the next seven games, eventually taking the tiebreak 10-5 to secure one of the best wins of her short career over her French opponent.

It seemed the win was in the back when the Russian won five consecutive games, and she was serving for the match, only to face a break and have to get herself back up for the tie break.

But she held her nerve and secured her spot in the fourth round of the competition, having already beaten Ons Jabeur and Bernarda Pera so far down under.

Mirra Andreeva, 16, staged a comeback win to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open

The teenager came from 5-1 down in the final set to beat France’s Diane Parry in Melbourne

Andreeva had been serving to win the match but has broken, and the game went to a tie break

Andreeva is playing in her first Australian Open having taken the tennis world by storm in the last year, winning over fans with her performances and witty one-liners in the media during last year’s Wimbledon.

Towards the end of her run in the competition, she was fined for throwing her racket and refusing to shake hands with the umpire having expressed frustrations over her performance in defeat to Madison Keys.

After she was criticised by a commentator for her ‘mental side of the game’ in her win over Parry on Friday, her idol Andy Murray leapt to her defence on social media.

‘Andreeva down 5-1 in third. Commentator “She really needs to work on mental side of her game.. she’s too hard on herself when she’s losing”,’ Murray began.

’30 minutes later 7-6 Andreeva wins. Maybe the reason she turned the match round is because of her mental strength. Maybe she turned the match around because she is hard on herself and demands more of herself when she’s losing/playing badly? Winner.’

Andy Murray, meanwhile, leapt to the teenager’s defence on social media after she was criticised by a commentator, who was questioning the ‘mental side of her game’

Murray and Andreeva have formed strong bond after it was revealed the Brit is the latter’s idol

Andreeva revealed she received a good luck text from Murray prior to last year’s French Open

Murray and Andreeva have formed a strong bond after the former revealed the three-time Grand Slam winner was her idol.

‘I met Andy Murray here,’ she said after her second round win over Barbora Krejcikova at Wimbledon. ‘But I’m too shy to talk to him.

‘When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not to talk to him because I’m super shy!’

After Murray’s Aix-en-Provence ATP Challenger title in May last year, Andreeva revealed she text the Scot to offer her congratulations.

‘I said congratulations,’ she said. ‘He actually answered me, so I was really happy about it. He said thank you, and good luck in Roland Garros. Maybe that’s why I’m playing that good now.’

Andreeva will face either Storm Hunter or Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round.