PARIS (AP) — Mirra Andreeva could not hold her nerve at Roland Garros last year.
Facing the unheralded Lois Boisson for a spot in the French Open semifinals, the Russian teenager lost her temper, losing in straight sets after receiving a warning for angrily hitting a ball into the stands.
There has been no such meltdown over the past two weeks. Still only 19, Andreeva is in her first Grand Slam final. The pressure remains but she knows how to handle it.
“Now I’m also nervous when I play matches like this or when I’m up in the score and ... I’m serving and the opponent breaks me,” she said after stopping the best clay-court player of the season, Marta Kostuyk, in the semifinals.
“Before I was thinking ‘Oh, my God, if I lost my serve, it’s like the end of the world.’ But now I feel like ... if she broke me, well, so what? I will try to break her back.”
The approach has been working out fine.
The eighth-seeded Andreeva has dropped just one set en route to the final, where she will meet the 114th-ranked Maja Chwalinska, a qualifier.
It's Chwalinska's first appearance in a major final, meaning a new Grand Slam champion will be crowned at the Court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday.
Andreeva has been competing at the highest level since she was 15 and it has taken some time for her to manage her temper, emotions and the pressure that accompanies her massive ambition. Finally, it appears she is ready to step forward and stake her claim for the biggest titles.
“I have been trying to work on me being more calm, more positive,” she said. “I’m very focused, and I felt like recently I have been trying to do a lot of different stuff. Maybe now I have found what’s been working very well for me.”
Back in 2024, Andreeva became the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist in more than a quarter-century when, in her sixth major tournament, she defeated Aryna Sabalenka.
Andreeva appeared pretty much insouciant at the time. She said she would devise plans with her coach, 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, only to forget everything during matches.
“Now I feel like I completely trust what my team tells me, and now it’s easier for me to do,” said Andreeva. “Whatever they tell me, I will just do it. I just feel like I’m able to trust them fully and not doubt anything.”
Winning the title would make her the youngest French Open women’s singles champion since 18-year-old Monica Seles landed her third straight Roland Garros crown in 1992.
Opposing styles
Andreeva and Chwalinska will be meeting for the first time.
Chwalinska’s best result at a major before the French Open was the second round at Wimbledon in 2022. She is the second qualifier to make a Grand Slam singles final in the professional era (1968), joining Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open.
In Paris, the Polish player has caught the eye of observers not only for her unexpected deep run — she won all but one of her nine matches in straight sets — but also for the variety of her shots and the kind of old-fashioned tennis she plays, peppered with stunning lobs and drop shots. Her tennis is a stark contrast to Andreeva's sheer power.
“I know that I’m playing different tennis than most of the girls on tour,” the slightly-framed Chwalinska said. “I don’t have the (physical) conditions to play strong, so I need to develop different kinds of weapons for myself. I've definitely played differently and I think it helps me a lot against these players.”
Overcoming depression
The left-handed Chwalinska, 24, has all it takes to be a top player. But after emerging as a promising junior alongside four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek, she began struggling in 2019.
“First on the court, but after I also started to feel bad off the court, and it led me to depression," she said. “Something I enjoyed the most suddenly became a source of suffering. I associated tennis with pressure, stress and crying."
Following a defeat in qualifying at Wimbledon in 2021, she took a break from the sport. Surrounded by family and friends and after working with a specialist, she has rebuilt her confidence. Now, she is getting ready for the biggest match of her life.
“I will for sure give my all," she said. "It’s a Grand Slam final.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
