In a final that no one could have predicted prior to the start of Roland Garros, eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva will will play World No. 114 Maja Chwalinska for the French Open title on Saturday (3 p.m. local time, 2 p.m. BST, 9 a.m. ET).
Andreeva was brilliant in the first semifinal on Thursday, snapping Marta Kostyuk’s 17-match winning streak with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 win.
A semifinalist in Paris two years ago, Andreeva is into her first career Grand Slam final.
In the second semifinal on Thursday, in what is one of the most stunning Grand Slam runs in recent memory, Chwalinska advanced to the final with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over 25th seed Diana Shnaider.
Chwalinska is the first qualifier to reach the Roland Garros final.
Ahead of Saturday’s title match, we make the case for both finalists.
The Case for Mirra Andreeva
Andreeva, despite being just 19 and playing her first career Grand Slam final, is the favorite heading into the final. She’s won two titles already this year on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz (one of them on clay, in Linz). She’s won a WTA Tour-leading 21 matches on clay this year and just knocked off Kostyuk, the hottest player over the past two months.
The World No. 8, who also won Adelaide at the start of the year, has dropped just one set all tournament (to Marina Bassols Ribera, in the second round), and only 32 games through her first six matches. She’s looked especially dominant in the latter stages of Roland Garros; prior to beating Kostyuk in 76 minutes, she took down Sorana Cirstea — who was also red hot coming into their match — in 56 minutes in a commanding 6-0, 6-3 win.
Following her win over Kostyuk on Thursday, Andreeva told reporters she was locked in like perhaps never before.
“I was so focused that I could see those hairs on the ball,” she said in her post-match press conference. “But [it’s] one thing when you see the hairs on the ball for a couple of points, and [another] thing when you’re able to do it throughout the whole match.”
What was particularly encouraging was Andreeva’s poise in the second set against Kostyuk. Up 4-1, in total control and with Kostyuk on the ropes, the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof began to close due to windy conditions. As that was happening, Andreeva lost the next two games to let Kostyuk back in the match. That turn of events may have rattled Andreeva in the past, but on Thursday she was unfazed. She took the final two games to close it out.
“I just tried to stay focused and not think about what happened,” she said, “and really focused on every point that I’m about to play.”
As strong as Chwalinska has looked in Paris, and as miraculous as her run as been, she’s yet to play someone of Andreeva’s caliber. Andreeva will be the first Top 10 opponent of her career.
Andreeva also figures to be the more rested player coming into the final. Chwalinska has now played nine matches in Paris, the last of which, against Shnaider, was especially physical and taxing.
The Case for Maja Chwalinska
Chwalinska will unquestionably be feeling pressure on Saturday, playing for the Roland Garros title on one of the biggest stages in the sport. But as far as expectations go, all the pressure is squarely on Andreeva’s shoulders. There is every chance Andreeva will get back to major finals (perhaps many) in the future, but she’s never had a more golden opportunity to win a Slam, and she might not get another one like this for a long, long time.
Chwalinska, on the other hand, is playing with house money. (Quite literally, in fact. Her career earnings coming into this tournament were $864,030. In this tournament alone she’s nearly doubled that, already bringing in $1.625 million as a finalist.) On May 18, she was simply hoping to string a few strong performances together to be able to qualify for the main draw. Eighteen days and nine matches later, she’s a household name and on the verge of making history.
And that’s to say nothing of her performance on court, which has been varied and unpredictable and spectacular. Like Andreeva, she has dropped just one set (though that’s over nine matches, compared to Andreeva’s six), and has displayed elite anticipation, court coverage and consistency.
She’s only made 99 unforced errors through her six main-draw matches, compared to Andreeva’s 153. Her semifinal win over Shnaider was particularly encouraging and eye-opening, as she blunted the World No. 23’s power and hit 32 winners to 17 unforced errors.
Ahead of the final, Chwalinska is staying within herself and maintaining her one-match-at-a-time approach, despite the fact that this will be unlike any other she’s played in her career.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said candidly in her post-match press conference after being Shnaider. “I’m just very happy to be here. I just try to focus on every single match, give my all. And then after the tournament, there will be time to kind of process it and breathe in, breathe out.”
She’s also not too concerned about her durability after a long three weeks of tennis.
“I’m going to repeat myself,” she added. “I’m going to sleep, and I’m going to drink my tea. I’m going to watch something good, maybe some tennis a bit, because I’m a tennis freak.”
This will be her first career meeting against Andreeva, and as they have against the rest of the field, her moon balls and lobs have the potential to disrupt Andreeva’s rhythm and force errors. If Chwalinska gets ahead early and gets the crowd behind her, she has a real chance.
