The Russian Mirra Andreeva17 years old, starred the big surprise from Roland Garros by defeating the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenkanumber 2 in the world, visibly physically diminished, by 6-7 (5), 6-4 and 6-4, to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.
The young tennis player, trained by the Spanish Conchita Martínez, will compete for a place in the final against another unexpected player, the Italian Jasmine Paoliniwho defeated the Kazakh Elina Rybakinafourth racket in the world, 6-2, 4-6 and 6-4.
Andreeva showed enormous personality against a rival of the stature of Sabalenka, winner of the last two Australian Opens and who was looking for her seventh consecutive semi-final of a Grand Slam.
With many physical problems, the Belarusian could not play the game that had taken her to the quarterfinals without losing a set.
Andreeva dominated the first round, in which her rival multiplied the errors, the result of physical problems for which she received several medical treatments.
The Russian even had a service in her favor to score it, but she wasted it and made it possible for the world number 2 to return, who with quality forced the tiebreaker game and won it.
Many ups and downs in Sabalenka’s game, who lost the second set, bad news given her physical condition, which tortured her until the end, until she lost the match, eliminated one round earlier than last year.
Great feat by a young promise of women’s tennis who already caused a sensation at Roland Garros last year by reaching the third round from the qualifying phase. At Wimbledon a few weeks later she qualified for her first round of 16 of a Grand Slam.
Furthermore, Andreeva is the woman younger in reaching a semi-final of a ‘Big’ from Switzerland Martina Hingis in 1997.
