Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva shocked the tennis world by defeating second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open quarterfinals.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka was sent crashing out of the French Open after a shock 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 quarter-final loss to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday after being hampered by illness throughout the contest. The 17 year old Andreeva will face 12th seed Jasmine Paolini in the last four, the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since a 16 year old Martina Hingis at the U.S. Open in 1997 and the youngest at Roland Garros since the Swiss great that same year.
Match highlight
Early in the first set, world No.38 Andreeva twice came back from a break deficit and then won four consecutive games, turning a 1-3 disadvantage into a 5-3 lead, while Sabalenka appeared to struggle with her health. However, when serving for the set at 5-4, Andreeva was broken, allowing Sabalenka to level the score and push the set into a tiebreak. Sabalenka clinched the tiebreak with a drop shot on her second set point.
In the second set, after an exchange of breaks in the first two games, Andreeva achieved a love break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. Sabalenka, however, fought back to level the score at 4-4. Despite this, the 17 year old Russian broke serve once more and clinched the second set in 46 minutes. This marked the first set reigning Australian Open champion Sabalenka had lost in a Grand Slam all year, bringing her record to 23-1.
In the deciding set, Sabalenka recovered from a break down to level the score at 3-3. She saved a match point at 5-4 with a gutsy winner but ultimately succumbed to Andreeva’s second match point, which the young Russian converted with a perfectly executed lob.
Mirra Andreeva’s statement after match
“Honestly, I was really nervous before the match. I knew she’d have an advantage,” said Andreeva, who had previously lost twice to Sabalenka in straight sets. “I see the game, I play whenever I want, I don’t really have a plan. When I see an open space on the court I try to play, I try to play behind her back or something like this. Me and my coach, we had a plan today but again I didn’t remember anything. I just try to play as I feel.”
“I’m really happy that I managed to win the match and go to my first semi-finals.” Andreeva said she came into the match full of nerves and her main goal was to win more than the five games she did during her defeat by Sabalenka In the Madrid quarter-finals last month.
“After I lost the first set, I was like, ‘well, now I have to go for the set at least to make it three sets. Afterwards, I just tried to play point by point and win as many points as I can,” Andreeva said. “I would say that in the beginning I didn’t really believe it, because she’s very experienced. She has two Grand Slams in her pocket. She’s a great player, very aggressive.”
“So it was like, ‘we’ll see what will happen… I’ll try to enjoy the atmosphere and try to play the best way I can’.”
Aryna Sabalenka medical time-out
Sabalenka, struggling with apparent illness, called for multiple medical time-outs and complained of not feeling well, allowing Andreeva to seize the advantage. Despite Sabalenka’s strong performance in the first four rounds, she struggled physically, breathing heavily between points.
Andreeva, currently ranked 38th, has already secured a spot in the world’s top 30 with her impressive run. She will now face Paolini, who had never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam before this year.
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