Nineteen-year-old Russian tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva secured her spot in her first Grand Slam final Thursday with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the French Open semifinals.
The eighth-seeded Andreeva dominated the match from start to finish on Court Philippe Chatrier, using powerful groundstrokes and aggressive play to overwhelm her Ukrainian opponent. She will now face either compatriot Diana Shnaider or Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska for the championship.
The semifinal carried political undertones due to ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Following a pattern established by Ukrainian players since Russia’s 2022 invasion of their homeland, Kostyuk declined to participate in the customary pre-match photo opportunity with Andreeva and avoided handshakes both before and after their contest.
Andreeva quickly established control by jumping to a 4-0 advantage in the first set and maintained her momentum throughout the match. This marked the third encounter between these players, with Kostyuk having won their previous two meetings.
While Kostyuk showed signs of mounting a challenge during the second set, Andreeva quickly extinguished any hopes of a comeback before closing out the victory on her serve.
Following her triumph, Andreeva expressed her emotions about reaching this milestone. “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 explained.
“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,” she continued.
“All of these feelings combined, I’ve never felt anything like this, I’m very excited about the last match here in Paris,” Andreeva concluded.
