After 77 minutes of high-intensity tennis, Mirra Andreeva let the emotion pour out. She dropped her racket, clenched both fists and yelled, “Come on!” at the packed Philippe-Chatrier crowd before throwing her head back and roaring toward the roof above.
It was a fitting release for a player whose big-match mettle has been scrutinised almost as closely as her abilities. The 19-year-old held herself together superbly on a cold evening at Roland Garros, brushing aside Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 to reach the French Open final and become the fifth-youngest woman to achieve the feat.
In Saturday’s final, she’ll play qualifier from Poland the 114th ranked Maja Chwalinska, who edged out the 25th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (4), 6-4 to become just the second qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era.
The performance served as a reminder that there has never been any doubt about Andreeva’s talent. She announced herself at Roland Garros as a 16-year-old in 2023, coming through the qualifying draw to reach the third round on her Grand Slam main-draw debut. But it was also on the Paris clay that spring that questions about her temperament first surfaced. During her third-round defeat by Coco Gauff, who was still a teenager herself, a frustrated Andreeva repeatedly took her anger out on the ball as the match slipped away.
Andreeva arrived at last year’s French Open on the back of WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells and produced another strong run to the quarterfinals, where she faced France’s Lois Boisson. Yet she appeared to find herself battling not only her opponent but also a fiercely partisan French crowd. As the atmosphere intensified, the Russian’s game unravelled.
Kostyuk, 23, represented an uncomfortable match-up for the Russian. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left Russian players facing hostile receptions in some arenas. With the Chatrier crowd throwing its support emphatically behind Kostyuk, particularly towards the end of the first set and into the second set, the question was whether Andreeva could maintain her composure. This time, however, she did not waver.
Zverev heads final four in men’s semis
Alexander Zverev is the runaway favourite to win his maiden Grand Slam title.
- 2-Alexander Zverev (GER) v 26-Jakub Mensik (CZE): Zverev leads 1-0 (Zverev won the only previous meeting between the two, besting Mensik in three sets on the clay in Madrid earlier this season). The 196-cm tall Mensik is a first-time Major semifinalist. The 20-year-old Mensik beat Djokovic in last year’s Miami Open final.
- 10-Flavio Cobolli (ITA) v Matteo Arnaldi (ITA): Head-to-head tied 1-1. The 24-year-old Cobolli will meet Arnaldi with a maiden Major final at stake, after the former world No 30 progressed past compatriot Matteo Berrettini who was forced to withdraw injured from their last-eight clash. The first all-Italian Grand Slam men’s semifinal in history will be a repeat of last year’s French Open second-round meeting, which Cobolli claimed in four sets.
