French Open: Mirra and Maja march into maiden Grand Slam final

Paris: Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva powered into her maiden Grand Slam final with a ruthless 6-1 6-3 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in a politically charged French Open semi-final on Thursday. The eighth seed seized control from the outset and never loosened her grip on the contest, overwhelming Kostyuk with her depth and aggression on Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a title clash against Polish qualifier Maja

Chwalinska, who beat Russia’s Diana Shnaider in the other semi-final. As has become customary for Ukrainian players since Russia’s invasion of their country in 2022, Kostyuk did not pose for the traditional pre-match photograph with her opponent and there was no handshake at the net before or after the match. Andreeva, 19, raced into a 4-0 lead in the
opening set and barely looked back in the third meeting between the two players, the Ukrainian having won the first two.


Kostyuk briefly threatened to make a contest of it in the second set, but the Russian swiftly snuffed out any hopes of a comeback before serving out the match to complete a dominant display.

“She’s an amazing player, a tough opponent, so I’m super happy with the way I played. I’m happy I got revenge for the Madrid final, and to reach my first Grand Slam final,” said Andreeva.

MAJA MAKES HISTORY
Polish world No. 114 Chwalinska made French Open history as she beat Shnaider in straight sets to become the first qualifier to go all the way to the final at Roland Garros in the professional era. The 24-year-old's 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory over Russian 25th seed Shnaider made her only the second woman to come through qualifying and reach a Grand Slam final in any major since the Open era began, after Emma Raducanu's title run at the US Open in 2021. Appearing in her first main draw in Paris, Chwalinska, who had on three previous occasions failed to qualify for Roland Garros, has won nine matches across her three-week French Open campaign to stand on the brink of glory. Chwalinska said her run to the final was “like a dream” moments after beating Shnaider. “I don’t know what’s going on, I just, I dunno what to say. I’m sorry, I’m just very happy,” she added to raucous applause on Court Philippe Chatrier.