Jasmine Paolini reached her first Grand Slam final after defeating Russia’s Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 in Paris on Thursday.
Paolini held her nerve against rising star Andreeva who looks likely to have many more opportunities to go one step further on tennis’ biggest stage.
Paolini was able to fend off three break points at 3-1 in the first set immediately after breaking the Russian’s serve, moving 4-1 ahead to take what would prove to be a decisive lead. She repeated the trick at 4-2, saving two break points to avoid what would have been 3-4 on Andreeva’s serve, and forcing her opponent to play from well behind.
Andreeva’s resolve seemed to crack in the second set, as she was broken three consecutive times, including to love in the final game, to see Paolini over the line.
The Italian’s superior first-serve percentage, 78 per cent to 65 per cent, proved crucial, with Andreeva winning just five of 16 points behind her second serve, and Paolini winning eight of 13 behind her own. Paolini hit 14 winners to Andreeva’s 11, and just 10 unforced errors compared to 30 from the 17-year-old.
