Eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva advanced to her first Grand Slam final on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals of the French Open in Paris.
The Russian teenager recorded two aces and took advantage of four double faults by Kostyuk en route to ending the match in 76 minutes. Kostyuk, from Ukraine, saw her 17-match winning streak come to a halt.
“I am happy that I am in my first-ever Grand Slam final. All of these feelings combined, it is amazing,” Andreeva said. “I just told myself, no matter what happens, I am going to fight and give my best. With this kind of mindset, I ended up winning.”
Andreeva, 19, will square off against either countrywoman Diana Shnaider, the 25th seed, or Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska. The second semifinal was being contested Thursday.
The politically charged matchup involving Andreeva and Kostyuk did not feature a traditional pre-match picture of the two players or a post-match handshake.
In between, Andreeva won the first four games and cruised to victory in the first set.
Kostyuk lost serve in the second game of the second set and never threatened as Andreeva defeated Kostyuk for the first time in three tries.
“I’m still very nervous, very nervous coming to this match as she’s had an amazing season, she hadn’t lost on clay, so that put pressure,” Andreeva said.
“Until this match she hasn’t lost a match on clay, so of course that puts a lot of pressure. She’s an amazing player, very tough opponent and I’m first of all super happy with the way I played today, then I’m happy that I got a revenge from Madrid final, and then as well I’m happy that I’m in my first ever Grand Slam final. All of these feelings combined … I’ve never felt anything like this before, and I’m very excited about the last match here in Paris.”
–Field Level Media
