French Open: Mirra Andreeva, 17, stuns world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach first Grand Slam semi-final | Tennis News

Seventeen-year-old Mirra Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam semi-final as she shocked Aryna Sabalenka in the last eight at Roland Garros, beating the world No 2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4.

Sabalenka, struggling with illness throughout the contest, still managed to claim a remarkable opening set, which saw six breaks of serve, courtesy of a tie-break.

Having comfortably won her last two meetings with Andreeva, the Belarusian had raced into a 3-1 before her own serve came undone in the opening set.

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Aryna Sabalenka received medical assistance during her quarter-final as she struggled with illness

After losing four games on the bounce to trail 5-3, Sabalenka called for the trainer out and took some medication before regrouping to force a tie-break which she edged.

But the Australian Open champion would continue to struggle physically at the start of the second set and received a time violation at one point for taking too long between games, crouching to her knees to try and recover.

Andreeva would go on to force a decider and, after an exchange of breaks, the pair were locked in a high-quality battle that thrilled fans on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Andreeva would go on to clinch a memorable victory as the teenager broke Sabalenka in the final game, lobbing her opponent for the win on her second match point.

Paolini knocks out Rybakina in quarter-final classicJasmine Paolini booked a place in the final four of the French Open for the first time, knocking out fourth seed Elena Rybakina in an epic quarter-final.

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Jasmine Paolini celebrates her quarter-final win over Elena Rybakina at Roland Garros

The 28-year-old Italian staved off a fightback from the Kazakh former Wimbledon champion to seal a stunning 6-2 4-6 6-4 win, setting up a semi-final meeting with Andreeva.

Playing in her first career Grand Slam quarter-final, Paolini got off to a confident start, cruising through the opening set but suffered a major wobble when losing four service games in a row across the second and third.

The 12th-seeded Paolini had twice broken Rybakina in the second set, only to immediately be broken back and, rather than clinch victory in straight sets, she was suddenly forced into a decider as she lost her serve yet again.

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Rybakina mounted a comeback in the second set but was ultimately denied a first French Open semi-final

The two players traded four further breaks to open the third set before Paolini finally returned to the level she showed early in the match, taking advantage of a slew of Rybakina errors to earn the decisive break in the ninth game before serving out for a famous victory.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. It was a really tough match,” Paolini said after clinching a semi-final spot.

“I think I was a little bit too emotional in the second set but I said to myself, ‘it’s good, she’s a great champion, so it can happen’.

“I tried to stay there every point. I managed to come back, stay focused and fight again.”

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