"Serena Williams' 23 don't count anymore?" - Mirra Andreeva's 'dream' to surpass Djokovic's Slam record elicits strong reactions from tennis fans

Mirra Andreeva's ambitious dream of surpassing Novak Djokovic's Grand Slam tally has drawn criticism from tennis fans who believe she is disregarding Serena Williams' record.

Andreeva's dream run at the 2023 French Open continued on Thursday as she registered a 6-1, 6-2 win over Diane Parry to advance to the third round in Paris. The 16-year-old, who made her way to the main draw through qualifiers, is yet to drop a set drop a set across her five matches at the claycourt Major.

After her most recent win, Andreeva said that her goal was to win 25 Grand Slam titles, thus surpassing Djokovic's current record of 22.

"The dream. I know that Djokovic, he did 22 Grand Slams or 23, so I want to go until 25, if it will be possible. I don't know. But I will just play. For now my goal is to win match by match, to win next match. Then if I win this match, to win next match again. That's it. Just to win match by match," she said.

However, fans were quick to point out that Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles, one more than Djokovic.

"Serena's 23 don't count anymore?" a fan questioned.

"Serena won 23, no? I wouldn’t ignore her for Novak to make that kind of reference," another fan commented.

"How is your goal 25 but you mention Djokovic and not Serena? Do the math!!!!!" a user tweeted.

Here are some more fan reactions to Mirra Andreeva's comments:

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic set to take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Mirra Andreeva to face Coco Gauff

Novak Djokovic through to the 2023 French Open

Following his 7-6(2), 6-0, 6-3 win over Marton Fucsovics, Novak Djokovic will continue his quest for a third French Open title when he takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. Davidovich Fokina defeated Luca Van Assche 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) to book his spot against the Serb.

Djokovic leads 2-1 in his head-to-head against the Spaniard. He won their two meetings in 2021, at the Italian Open in Rome and the Tokyo Olympics. However, it was Davidovich Fokina who emerged victorious in their most recent meeting, at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters. The Spaniard beat Djokovic 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1 to oust him from the claycourt event in the second round.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva has become the youngest player to reach the third round at the claycourt Major since 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva made a run to the quarterfinals in 2005. Andreeva will be up against sixth seed and last year's runner-up Coco Gauff in the third round.

Gauff defeated Julia Grabher 6-2, 6-3 to book her spot against Andreeva.