Aryna Sabalenka (left) congratulates Mirra Andreeva (right) on her Roland Garros quarterfinal victory. In Paris, June 5, 2024
ALAIN JOCARD
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The Russian Mirra Andreeva, 17 years old and who has the Spanish Conchita Martínez as a coach, surprised the number 2 this Wednesday in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros by 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 and 6-4 world champion, Aryna Sabalenka, who required medical attention during the match.
Andreeva, 38th in the world, will face the Italian Jasmine Paolini (15th) in the semifinals on Thursday, who in the previous turn on the center court had defeated the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (4th) 6-2, 4-6 and 6 -4.
Not since the 1997 US Open and Swiss Martina Hingis has there been a Grand Slam semi-finalist so young.
Andreeva, who is now 17 years and 29 days old, is used to breaking records for precocity. She had reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon (2023) and the Australian Open (2024), but this Roland Garros is already her best Grand Slam.
“Honestly, I was really nervous before the match. I knew she had the advantage,” Andreeva said, alluding to the fact that in her previous duels against Sabalenka she had failed to win a set.
In the decisive set, Sabalenka took advantage with a break to go 3-2, but Andreeva did not lose concentration, she returned the break of serve next and was very solid in that final stretch.
Conchita Martínez (52 years old), who as a player became Wimbledon champion in 1994 and was runner-up at Roland Garros in 2000, has been training Andreeva since April, after having coached the Spanish-Venezuelan Garbiñe Muguruza or the Czech Marie Bouzkova in the past. .
“Today my coach and I had a plan, but I didn’t remember it. I simply played how I felt I had to play,” Andreeva smiled in her message to the public from the court, making Conchita Martínez laugh.
For Sabalenka, champion at the beginning of this Australian Open season, this elimination is painful, after arriving at the tournament as the great candidate to dethrone the Polish favorite Iga Swiatek, who will face the American Coco Gauff in the semifinals on Thursday. number 3 in the women’s ranking.
The Belarusian, a semi-finalist last year on the clay in Paris, played the duel against Andreeva, reduced due to illness. She required medical attention during the match and was seen constantly gesticulating, looking upset, while multiplying unusual errors for her.
