PARIS
\nMirra Andreeva became the youngest French Open champion in over three decades on Saturday as she swept aside surprise finalist Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 on a blustery Court Philippe Chatrier, where the Pole seemed frozen by the magnitude of the occasion.
\nThe 19-year-old Russian, the youngest Roland Garros women\u2019s singles winner since Monica Seles won her third straight title in 1992 aged 18, overcame a jittery start to claim her maiden Grand Slam crown, growing in authority as the match wore on while Chwalinska struggled to settle on the big stage.
\nThe world number 114, who will rise to 21st in the world rankings on Monday, had captivated Roland Garros with her tactical intelligence in a nine-match winning run that began in qualifying but the magic deserted her in the final despite the support of hundreds of Polish fans.
\nOn a court that suddenly seemed vast and unforgiving, Chwalinska looked a shadow of the player who had outmanoeuvred opponent after opponent to reach the championship match.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re a very tricky opponent. Wouldn\u2019t want to play you one more time. No, it\u2019s ok. I hope we play many more finals in the future,\u201d Andreeva said during the trophy ceremony.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been watching Roland Garros on TV since I was very, very young, so it\u2019s also a big dream of mine to win this tournament and I honestly cannot believe that I\u2019m holding this trophy right now.\u201d
\nAs eighth seed Andreeva\u2019s ground-strokes found their range and her confidence swelled, Chwalinska\u2019s touch deserted her.
\nThe Pole\u2019s trademark drop shots and changes of pace yielded little returns, and the Russian teenager seized control to complete a breakthrough triumph.
\nChwalinska was only the second female player since tennis turned professional in 1968 to make it to the final of a major after Britain\u2019s Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open.
\nThe Pole survived a marathon opening service game in which she saved three break points with a combination of deft drop shots and fearless forehand winners but neither player managed to establish control.
\nBreaks were exchanged repeatedly as errors flowed from both rackets, Andreeva contributing two double faults in one service game while Chwalinska\u2019s forehand repeatedly misfired.
\nAt 3-3, however, the balance shifted decisively.
\nAndreeva began finding greater depth and weight on her heavy ground-strokes, forcing Chwalinska onto the defensive and drawing errors from her opponent\u2019s racket.
\nThe Russian broke for 4-3 when Chwalinska netted a sliced backhand, consolidated for 5-3 and pounced on a nervy final service game to wrap up the set.
\nAndreeva then broke to go 2-0 up after yet another unforced forehand error from Chwalinska, who wasted three break points and dropped serve again to fall 4-0 behind.
\nChwalinska pulled a break back and rallied to 5-2 down to seal victory and the title on her opponent\u2019s serve with a crosscourt backhand winner.
\nShe will pocket $3.22 million for winning the title while Chwalinska will take home $1.61 million, about twice the amount she had collected since the beginning of her career.
\n\u201cCongratulations to Mirra, such an incredible player, so young and so talented, it\u2019s so annoying. Congratulations to your team as well, for an amazing job, and all the best for the future,\u201d said Chwalinska.
\n\u201cI wish we could see a better match today, but Mirra is too good, so I guess it\u2019s her fault. I tried my best. I\u2019m sorry. I will never forget these three weeks, Paris will forever be in my heart. Merci.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS Mirra Andreeva became the youngest French Open champion in over three decades on Saturday as she swept aside surprise finalist Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 on a blustery Court Philippe Chatrier, where the Pole seemed frozen by the magnitude of the occasion. The 19-year-old Russian, the youngest Roland Garros women\u2019s singles winner since Monica Seles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":550121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-550103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n