Qualifier Maja Chwalinska continues fairytale run to reach French Open final
Emma Raducanu’s status as the only qualifier ever to win a grand slam title could be erased on Saturday by remarkable Polish outsider Maja Chwalinska.
The 24-year-old’s 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over Russian Diana Shnaider on Court Philippe Chatrier was her ninth in a row at Roland Garros, and set up a final clash with eighth seed Mirra Andreeva.
Chwalinska, who is ranked 114th, arrived in Paris as one of 128 players just hoping to make it through to the main draw and without ever having beaten a top-50 player.
Now she has toppled four in a row as well as Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, and will fully believe she can match Raducanu’s fairytale run in New York five years ago.
How Mirra Andreeva drowned out the noise to march into French Open final
In a clash of teenage prodigies past and present it was 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva who took a step further to fulfilling her long-evident potential, as she booked a place in her first grand slam final at the expense of the in-form Marta Kostyuk, winning 6-1 6-3.
23-year-old Kostyuk had been the most dangerous player left in the draw after an unbeaten run on the red dirt this season and titles in Rouen and Madrid. But the Ukrainian wilted under bright sunshine in Paris, leaking 34 unforced errors to her opponent’s 22 and largely failing to trouble Andreeva’s composed, clinical ballstriking.
Women’s semi-final results
Before we turn our attention to today’s semi-finalists, here’s a quick recap of what happened in yesterday’s women’s final four…
Mirra Andreeva [8] def. Marta Kostyuk [15] 6-1 6-3
Maja Chwalinska def. Diana Shnaider [25] 7-6(4) 6-4
Why Alexander Zverev would be the French Open’s most complicated winner
Three-time grand slam semi-finalist is the overwhelming favourite to win the title in the absence of Jannik Sinner. But his continued presence on the tour divides opinion and raises difficult questions about the sport’s handling of thorny legal issues.
Today’s order of play
2.30pm local time (1.30pm BST)
Jakub Mensik [26] v Alexander Zverev [2]
Not before 7pm local time (6pm BST)
Matteo Arnaldi v Flavio Cobolli [10]
Good afternoon
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the French Open men’s semi-finals!
Yesterday’s women’s semis saw Mirra Andreeva sweep aside Marta Kostyuk, while qualifier Maja Chwalinska continued her fairytale run by beating Diana Shnaider.
Today, three-time major runner-up Alexander Zverev faces Jakub Mensik, before an all-Italian duel between Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi.
