Teen titan Mirra Andreeva stuns Aryna Sabalenka to reach first Slam ...
The 17-year-old snapped an ailing Sabalenka’s 23-set streak at major tournaments to score the biggest win of her young career on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
It’s an achievement unlocked for teen phenom Mirra Andreeva: the 17-year-old superstar scored the biggest win of her young career at Roland Garros, stunning world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
"I really tried not to focus on the score, and when it was the second match point for me, I was trying to imagine I was saving a break point, so I was trying to play brave and I managed to win!" Andreeva exclaimed during her on-court interview.
Andreeva snapped the reigning Australian Open champion’s 23-set winning streak at Grand Slams and ended her run of six straight Slam semifinals, roaring back from a break down in the third set to hand an out-of-sorts Sabalenka her first major defeat of the season in two hours and 29 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Waiting for her in her first Grand Slam semifinal is fellow debutante and No. 12 seed Jasmine Paolini, who stunned No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina earlier in the afternoon.
Sabalenka was facing her second Andreeva in two weeks, having opened her tournament with a straight-set victory over elder sister Erika in the first round. But Mirra Andreeva is the more familiar opponent, with Sabalenka scoring wins over the youngster at back-to-back Mutua Madrid Opens—most recently last month with the loss of just five games.
Andreeva has been one of the most exciting young players of the last 12 months, rocketing to prominence with a fourth-round finish at the Caja Magica last spring—ended by the aforementioned Sabalenka—and only getting stronger in the year since, hiring coach Conchita Martinez (who coached Garbiñe Muguruza to a 2017 Wimbledon victory) and reaching the second week in three of her last four major appearances.
Paris proved a new peak for the teenager, who lost just one set en route to the quarterfinals against former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. She charmed the French crowd despite a win over home favorite Varvara Gracheva and received warm support in the early goings of her third meeting with Sabalenka.
Sabalenka enjoyed a dominant first week on the terre battue, backing up a pair of runner-up finishes in Madrid and at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by extending her Grand Slam winning streak to 11 in a row—all without losing a set. Despite a back issue she revealed picking up in Rome, she looked strong against good friend Paula Badosa and avenged a BNP Paribas Open loss to Emma Navarro to reach a seventh straight Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Coming in with an 8-0 record in major quarterfinals (16-0 in sets), she looked to begin her match with Andreeva in similar style, breaking to open up a 2-0 lead. But things soon took an ominous turn as double faults saw her twice hand the break back and lose five of the next six games.
After falling behind a break herself, the 26-year-old took the first of two medical timeouts for an apparent stomach issue, taking medication in an effort to stem the discomfort. On the brink of losing her first Grand Slam set of the season, she reeled off three games in a row and ultimately steeled through a tense tiebreaker in just over an hour.
Sabalenka looked to have put the struggles behind her early in the second but soon appeared physically overwhelmed again, losing her early break advantage and falling behind 2-4 with Andreeva closing in on a decider.
Saving one set point with a booming forehand, Sabalenka couldn’t save a second, missing a backhand into the net to end a streak of 23 straight sets.
Momentum swings abounded as the finals set got underway: Sabalenka dug out of a 0-30 deficit on serve to kick off a streak of eight straight points, breaking Andreeva for the first time in the set. Andreeva broke straight back and played impeccable defense to pull off a two-game run of her own and put herself on the edge of the upset.
Serving to stay in the match, Sabalenka blasted a backhand down the line on the brink of defeat and saved a match point with a another big forehand, but Andreeva responded brilliantly, pulling up a second match point with a backhand winner and clinched victory with a deftly struck lob over the world No. 2's head.
