Mirra Andreeva achieves two sensational feats with stunning French Open win over Aryna Sabalenka

Mirra Andreeva earned the biggest victory of her career by upsetting Aryna Sabalenka to reach the semi-finals at the 2024 French Open.

The 17-year-old rising star earned a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 triumph against world No 2 Sabalenka at Roland Garros to reach her maiden Grand Slam semi-final.

Andreeva narrowly lost the opening set in a tiebreak after serving for it at 5-3 and she was broken in the opening game of the second set.

The world No 38 responded well, though, and broke Sabalenka for the third time in the set at 5-4 to level the quarter-final contest.

The Russian then recovered from a break down at 2-3 in the third set and held her nerve by converting her second match point on Sabalenka’s serve.

Sabalenka, who is the two-time defending Australian Open champion, looked to be struggling with an illness throughout the match, but she made Andreeva earn the win.

This is the first time in seven Grand Slam appearances where the 26-year-old Belarusian has not reached the semi-finals of further.

With her progress to the semi-finals, Andreeva has become the youngest woman to reach the last four of a Grand Slam since tennis great Martina Hingis at the 1997 US Open.

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Hingis was just 16 when she won the 1997 US Open — the third of her five Major singles titles — without dropping a set.

Andreeva, who celebrated her 17th birthday on April 29, is also the youngest woman to defeat a top 2 seed at a Grand Slam since Jelena Dokic at Wimbledon in 1999. Dokic, who was 16, downed top seed Hingis in the opening round at the All England Club.

The 17-year-old is also the youngest player to beat a player ranked in the top 2 at the French Open since tennis legend Steffi Graf overcame her rival Monica Seles at Roland Garros in 1990.

Andreeva will face world No 15 Jasmine Paolini in the French Open semi-finals after the 28-year-old Italian beat fourth seed Elena Rybakina 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the last eight.

Andreeva gave her thoughts on facing Paolini, who she defeated at the Madrid Open in April in the pair’s only previous meeting.

“I played her in Madrid. It was really tough mentally and game wise,” Andreeva said in her on-court interview

“She plays really fast and moves really fast. She goes for it. Doesn’t matter what the situation or score is. It’ll be a bit like today. I’ll try to play the same level and with the same cool head. We’ll see what will happen.”

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