Mirra Andreeva Reveals the Improvements from 2024 Semifinal After Reaching Roland Garros Final

19-year-old Mirra Andreeva became the first player to defeat Marta Kostyuk on clay this season, and in doing so, she reached her maiden Grand Slam final. Andreeva was 0-2 against Kostyuk, and Kostyuk was 17-0 on clay this season before their Roland Garros semifinal clash.

Their most recent meeting took place in the Madrid Open final, where Kostyuk clinched her maiden WTA 1000 title after a straight-set win over Andreeva.

Andreeva was filled with tears after the Madrid final; however, she has now made an incredible turnaround and shown great mental strength to reach the Roland Garros final.

This marked Andreeva’s second Roland Garros semifinal. The Russian had reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at this tournament two years ago, where she lost to Jasmine Paolini. After her semifinal win, Andreeva spoke at the press conference about the improvements she had made to her game:

Two years ago, I was very thrilled just to be in the semifinals. I don’t think I fully believed that I could keep winning matches. That also affected how I played in that semifinal, although Jasmine destroyed me in that match. Now, I feel I am a bit more mature and experienced; I can approach matches differently and truly focus on the opponent and the game plan. I definitely feel more experienced than last year, although I still feel like I have a lot to learn through victories and defeats.

Andreeva played very aggressively and raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set against Kostyuk, who seemed very unsettled. Kostyuk struggled with many errors and let out her frustrations from time to time. The Ukrainian, who was playing her first Grand Slam semifinal, hit 15 winners, committed 34 unforced errors, and four double faults as she lost serve five times and broke her opponent just once.

Kostyuk brought a bit of variety in the second set, especially with her spin, and broke back to 3-4. However, she could not sustain the momentum as Andreeva quickly raised her level and sealed the win 6-1, 6-3 after Kostyuk’s forehand error.

Mirra Andreeva will face Maja Chwalinska in the Roland Garros final

In a matchup that nobody would have expected, Mirra Andreeva is set to face qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the Roland Garros final. Chwalinska is only the second qualifier in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam final after Emma Raducanu, who won her sole career title at the 2021 US Open.

Astonishingly, the Pole had only won one main draw Grand Slam match before her Roland Garros campaign this year. Chwalinska is also only the second Polish player to reach the Roland Garros final after her long-time friend and four-time champion Iga Swiatek.

Andreeva and Chwalinska will meet for the first time on court, and as unexpected as this tournament has been so far, the match could go either way, although Andreeva, owing to her experience, is the bigger favorite here.

The Russian has played three WTA 1000 finals prior to this, winning two, and has also won a clay-court title in Linz this season. A win for Andreeeva in the final would make her the youngest woman this century to win the Roland Garros title and the first Russian to win the title since Maria Sharapova in 2014.

Although it was a new experience for Chwalinska, she handled tough situations very well, with wins over several higher-ranked players like Qinwen Zheng, Elise Mertens, Anna Kalinskaya, and Diana Shnaider in her fairytale run to the Roland Garros final.

Also Read: Mirra Andreeva Reacts to Serena Williams’ Return to Tennis After Advancing in Roland Garros