Jasmine Paolini too much for nervous Mirra Andreeva at French Open
By Lee Vowell
Mirra Andreeva might have had an easier time in her French Open semifinal match against Jasmie Paolini had there been a day between Andreeva's victory over Aryna Sabalenka. The Russian's emotional victory over the WTA No. 2 was the biggest win of her career, and the victory allowed her to make her deepest run at a Grand Slam event. Paolini might have needed the semifinal win more, though.
Andreeva is only 17 years old and has years of tennis left to play. Paolini is playing the best tennis of her life and will move into the top ten of the WTA rankings for the first time once the new rankings come out next week, but she is 28 years old. She might not be playing in five years. In five years, Andreeva will be a year younger than Iga Swiatek is right now.
Andreeva appeared to be a bundle of nerves to begin the match. At one point, she had 13 unforced errors versus just three winners. Her swing was tight. She did not seem to be struggling with fitness, but she was struggling to find balance against Paolini's well-placed shots.
Jasmine Paolini will face Iga Swiatek in the French Open final
Paolini is not going to overpower anyone. Her serve is normally less than 100 MPH, but she does have great court coverage. She also knows how to play the angles. Against Andreeva, she constantly went down the lines or cross court which kept Andreeva moving around and reacting instead of dictating play. The Russian will learn to combat this better in the future, but she simply does not have the match experience yet to know how to quickly adjust.
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Meanwhile, Paolini had the ease of someone playing with house money. She wasn't supposed to be in the semifinals of the French Open. She is the Italian version of American Danielle Collins. Paolini might not be about to retire, but both players found a way to play their best tennis closer to the end of their careers.
After defeating Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1, Jasmine Paolini will take on Iga Swiatek in the French Open final. There seems to be little chance of the Italian beating the Pole at the place where Swiatek has won three of the last four tournaments at Roland Garros. No one expected Paolini to reach the final either, however.
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