Teenager Mirra Andreeva stuns ill Aryna Sabalenka to advance to French Open semi-finals | Tennis news

NEW DELHI: Second seed Aryna Sabalenka was unexpectedly ousted from the French Open after a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 quarter-final loss to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva at Paris Wednesday. Sabalenka, hampered by illness throughout the match, struggled to maintain her form against the 17-year-old.

Andreeva became the youngest woman to reach the semi-finals of a major event since Martina Hingis at the US Open 27 years ago. She also became the youngest player to achieve this feat at Roland Garros since Hingis in 1997.

Despite comfortably winning her previous two meetings with Andreeva, the Belarusian quickly took a 3-1 lead in the first set. However, her serve faltered and she called the coach for medicine as Andreeva took a 5-3 lead.


Sabalenka managed to regroup and force a tiebreak, winning the first set with a stunning drop shot. However, she appeared physically strained early in the second set, receiving a time violation for taking too long between games and showing signs of distress.

Andreeva took advantage of Sabalenka's struggles to tie the match, winning the second set 6-4. In the decisive third set, the two players exchanged breaks, thrilling the supporters of the Philippe Chatrier court with their high quality play.


In the end, Andreeva broke Sabalenka in the final game to secure a memorable victory on her second match point, completing a significant upset against the 2023 semi-finalist.

“Honestly, I was really nervous before the match, I knew she would have an advantage,” said Andreeva, who lost her previous two meetings against Sabalenka in straight sets.

“I see the game, I play when I want, I don't really have a plan. When I see an open space on the field, I try to play, I try to play behind his back or something like that .

“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, currently ranked 38th, had already managed to break into the world top 30 thanks to her participation in the quarter-finals. With her continued success and reaching the semi-finals, she is now poised to move up even further in the rankings.

(With inputs from Reuters)