Fighting Italian and Russian teen win their quarterfinals in Paris

Mirra Andreeva stuns Aryna Sabalenka to clinch her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final in Paris! pic.twitter.com/TCEU4y18Q0

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 5, 2024

Today, both Jasmine Paolini and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva did what they "weren't supposed to do"--they upset the 4th and 2nd seeds respectively, to reach the semifinals of the French Open.

Paolini won a brilliant first set against Elena Rybakina, easily defeating her 6-2. In the second set, Paolini's level dropped, and she began to make unforced errors (she made only one in the first set). At the same time--not surprisingly--Rybakina raised her level and won the set, 6-4. The final set was tense, but it was the 4th seed who blinked--during the last few games, she made several unforced errors, while Paolini held her nerve, winning the set 6-4.

In the other quarterfinal, Andreeva held tough against Aryna Sabalenka, forcing a tiebreak set, which Sabalenka won. History informs us that a fairly inexperienced player who loses a very tight first set is likely to collapse. But not Andreeva. She held firm, and tightened her game gradually, taking the second set 6-4, and the third set 6-4. There were fourteen breaks of serve in the match.

Andreeva is the youngest woman to reach the semifinals of a major since Martina Hingis (of course!) did it in 1997. Hingis reached the semifinals of both the French Open and the U.S. Open that year. She was 16.

There is important context to consider about both of today's quarterfinal matches. Rybankina has been ill a lot this season, withdrawing from both Indian Wells and Rome--she was the defending champion at both events. In addition to whatever illness she has, the world number 4 also suffers with allergies, and--according to Tennis Channel's Andrea Petkovic--she's having trouble sleeping (a sleep disorder alone is enough to derail any athlete). 

Sabalenka, for her part, played her quarterfinal while experiencing stomach problems. 

If Rybakina had been healthy, would she have won? We'll never know, especially Paolini is on a real roll. If Sabalenka had been well, would she have won? Probably, but Andreeva is impressive, and upsets do happen, even when no one is sick or injured. Paolini and Andreeva have played each other only once, in Madrid this year; Andreeva won the match.

 Here is the singles semifinal draw:

Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Coco Guff (3)
Jasmine Paolini (12) vs. Mirra Andreeva

Swiatek is 10-1 against Gauff. They have played four times on clay, and Swiatek won all of those matches. One of those matches, in fact, was the 2022 French Open final.

Paolini also went on, with partner Sara Errani (one of the original Fighting Italians) to defeat the team of Emma Navarro and Diana Shnaider in the doubles quarterfinals. Navarro and Shnaider upset the top seeds, Hsieh and Mertens, in the second round.

And yesterday, Diede de Groot had to face a recent nemesis--Li Xiaohui, who snapped de Groot's 145-match win streak recently in World Team Cup play. Diede the Great prevailed, 6-3, 6-4.