Andreeva shocks ill Sabalenka to face Paolini in French Open semi-final

Paris: Mirra Andreeva became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist in 27 years with a shock victory over Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday at Roland Garros, after fourth seed Elena Rybakina was knocked out by Italian Jasmine Paolini.

Andreeva, aged just 17 and 29 days, battled back from a set against Australian Open champion Sabalenka, who seemed hampered by illness, to win 6-7 (5/7), 6 -4, 6-4 and prepare for a quarter-final meeting with Italian Jasmine Paolini.

The Russian is the youngest woman to reach the final four of a Slam since Martina Hingis at the 1997 US Open, and the youngest at Roland Garros since Hingis, also that year.

“Me and my coach we had a plan today but again I don't remember anything. I just try to play the way I feel,” Andreeva said.

Sabalenka called several medical timeouts as she complained of not feeling well and Andreeva, playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, finally took advantage with a composed display.

The world number 38 concluded a memorable victory in style after almost two and a half hours with a brilliant winning lobb, which delighted the audience at the Philippe Chatrier court.

“I was also a little surprised when you encouraged me, I didn't expect that, so thank you very much for encouraging me today,” she told the spectators.

Sabalenka was aiming for a seventh consecutive Grand Slam semi-final and had won 11 consecutive matches at major tournaments following her second title in Melbourne earlier this year.

Andreeva will face 12th-seeded Paolini for a place in the final on Thursday after her own surprise 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over former Wimbledon champion Rybakina.

Paolini made just one unforced error in a dominant first set, but his level dropped after he broke to lead 4-3 in the second, allowing Rybakina to force a decider.

But she overcame a topsy-turvy third set that featured five breaks of serve to secure a deserved victory, as a wayward Rybakina exited the tournament with a surge of 48 unforced errors.

Paolini, 28, playing in his first Grand Slam quarter-final, continued a brilliant week for Italian tennis after Jannik Sinner also reached his first French Open semi-final and took the men's world No. 1 spot .

This is the first time Italy has had men's and women's singles semi-finalists at a Grand Slam event in the Open era.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Paolini, who had never made it past the second round at Roland Garros and had won just four Grand Slam matches in his career before this year.

Tournament favorite Iga Swiatek faces US Open champion Coco Gauff in Thursday's other women's semifinal.

Novak Djokovic was set to face Casper Ruud in a repeat of last year's final, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion's title defense was abruptly ended by a knee injury he suffered during his spectacular victory in the round of 16 against Francisco Cerundolo.

Media reports have suggested that Djokovic will undergo surgery, putting his participation at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics in doubt.

Sinner will usurp Djokovic as world number one next week and the Italian will face Carlos Alcaraz in the men's semi-final on Friday.

The remaining quarter-final on Wednesday will see Alexander Zverev face Alex de Minaur in the night session, after Djokovic's withdrawal allowed Casper Ruud to advance to the last four.

German fourth seed Zverev will aim for a fourth straight semi-final at Roland Garros after reaching the last eight for the sixth time in seven years.

It took him five sets to beat Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, before fighting back to defeat Holger Rune in another deciding match in the round of 16 which ended at 1:40 a.m. local time – the penultimate result of the history of Roland-Garros.

“I played a total of eight and a half hours in the last three days, so I need to recover,” Zverev said.

Zverev is playing in the shadow of an ongoing trial in Berlin over allegations of assault against an ex-girlfriend.

Australian De Minaur, seeded 11th, had never made it past the second round in Paris before this year, winning just three matches out of ten.

There will be a maiden French Open men's champion on Sunday for the first time since 2016, with Ruud the only man remaining in the draw to have already reached the final.