Andreeva stymies Chwalinska, wins French Open

Andreeva tops Chwalinska at French Open for 1st Grand Slam title
PARIS -- Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was already a tennis phenom at age 15. At 19, she became a Grand Slam champion. The eighth-ranked Andreeva ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the French Open final on Saturday. Andreeva became the youngest player to win the women's singles title since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she won her third straight French Open in 1992.
Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title. When Andreeva executed a backhand cross-court winner on her first match point, she dropped to her knees on the clay to celebrate. Andreeva had been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third-youngest player to win a main-draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and reached the quarterfinals. Lately, Andreeva had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country's flag due to the war with Ukraine. When she defeated Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, following the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians since the war started in 2022. Andreeva has now gone further than her coach, Conchita Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.
The final took place under mostly sunny skies, though wind played a role in the first Grand Slam final for both players. Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match but became the first player to hold serve in the fifth game. Eventually, Andreeva found a way to strike through the wind and respond to Chwalinska's variety of spins and drop shots. There was a strong Polish presence in the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd. When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: "Ma-ja, Ma-ja." "I've tried my best, I'm sorry," Chwalinska told the crowd after the loss. Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although a shout of "Davai Mirra!" -- "Go Mirra" -- in Russian was heard late in the match. Alexander Zverev was set to play Flavio Cobolli in the men's final on Sunday, concluding the wildest Grand Slam in recent memory.