It’s a mantra that has served generations of tennis players: pressure is a privilege. And it’s a lesson that Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva has taken to heart early in her fledgling career.

Still just 15 years old, the Roland Garros top seed has had to grow up fast since the stunning 2020 Australian Open victory that propelled her up the rankings – and into the spotlight, both in her native Andorra and beyond.

When tennis returned from its COVID-induced hiatus in the autumn, Jimenez Kasintseva was world No. 1 and heading to Paris in search of a second junior Grand Slam title. But sport is rarely so straightforward, as she learned the hard way.

“Last year I came with too many expectations,” Jimenez Kasintseva admits. “I only came to win. Since I’d only played one Grand Slam in Australia and I won it, I thought it was just going to be easy, that I would just win again.

“When I went to Australia, I was very calm. I was just another player, and I went there with the mentality to compete in every match and give it all, and obviously I gave the best tennis that I had in that one.

“But when you're No. 1 and you have all the expectations – ‘The 14-year-old, she's good, she's the No. 1, Australian Open…’ – I had so many things in my head, and I wasn't thinking about giving it on the court. I lost in the second round and after that I was very, very sad, also because I lost my No. 1 junior spot.

“I just had the wrong mentality going in there. I came here, and now I'm handling better the pressure. I have been working on it with my team. I'm very young and it's obviously very difficult to manage, but I'm getting used to the pressure. I know that it's a privilege having this pressure, but you have to know how to handle it.

“I started to speak more about my feelings with my team, sharing something that's complicated to me. I didn't know how to explain my pressure, my nerves, because I hadn’t admitted that I had them, but I did. Now I'm managing a bit better. I hope I can continue like this. 

“This year I came here to just compete at my best. That's what I'm doing. I was very calm on court, I was confident – I'm very happy I am handling it this way.”

Lessons learned, Jimenez Kasintseva has made a flawless start on her return to Paris with three straight-sets victories, the latest a 6-3 6-2 win over Switzerland's Sebastianna Scilipoti. But the pressure only gets more intense from here.

Up next is doubles partner Linda Noskova, unseeded in Paris but already impressing on the ITF World Tennis Tour Women’s circuit, where the Czech 16-year-old has won two titles this season, with either Russia’s Diana Shnaider or American Robin Montgomery, the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds respectively, awaiting the winner in the semi-finals.

“She's an incredible player so that's going to be a really tough match,” Jimenez Kasintseva said of Noskova, adding that their doubles partnership would not affect, or be affected by, standing across the net in Paris.

“We're going to have the good relationship we have. The competition on court doesn't have to show off the court or in doubles. I'm going to be the same with her as I was when I knew we didn't have to play.”

Russia is guaranteed one semi-finalist after Erika Andreeva took out a second seed, following up her second-round win over Linda Fruhvirtova with a 6-2 6-3 victory against French No. 6 seed Oceane Babel. She will face Polina Kudermetova, the No. 3 seed, in the last eight.

There was better news for the French contingent in the boys’ singles, where each quarter-final will feature a home-grown player after wins for Luca van Assche, Arthur Fils, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Sean Cuenin, who will next face Juncheng Shang – winner of the match of the day in the junior draws.

Top seed Shang was pushed to the limit by Leo Borg in a see-sawing contest that came down to the wire. The Chinese 16-year-old emerged from a final set that began with eight consecutive breaks of serve before prevailing 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(4) in two hours, 37 minutes.

Shang has now won 13 matches in succession on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, claiming titles at JA Criciuma and JB1 San Diego in the process. But his first Grand Slam appearance has been anything but processional, with all three matches so far going to three sets.

“I’m actually feeling really tired,” Shang said. “It was obviously a really tough match, and I’ve been through three sets in all of my matches here. But I’m very happy to be here. This is my first Grand Slam – the energy is different, with the big crowds. Everything feels very special here, definitely different.

“In the third set, both of us were really tired and both of us returned well, so holding serve was a big problem. At the end we both changed things up and got to hold two games. At the end, I was really nervous, because if something goes wrong in the tie-break, it could be really quick.”

Shang will face No. 9 seed Cuenin in front of what promises to be a biosterous crowd with a home favourite on court, but the 16-year-old is unfazed.

“Every time I go on court I try to fight for every point and have the right mindset, then see how it goes," he said. "I don’t think about winning or losing, I just try to enjoy it – I think that’s the most important thing.”