- The 17-year-old burst onto the scene last year and is enjoying a meteoric rise
- Sabalenka looked uneasy from the start, and at times looked close to vomiting
- Andreeva will play Jasmine Paolini after the Italian beat No4 Elena Rybakina
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Mirra Andreeva will become the youngest woman to compete in a Grand Slam semi-final for 27 years when she takes on Jasmine Paolini on Thursday at the tender age of 17.
The Russian prodigy inflicted a first major defeat of the season on Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who was seriously compromised by illness in the 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 defeat.
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Andreeva’s run has come a little ahead of schedule but great things are expected of the teenager, who won her first match on tour aged just 15 and will rise to at least No 23 in the world after this quarter-final win.
It was clear from the start that all was not well with Sabalenka. The 26-year-old was clutching her stomach, grimacing and looked at times as if she might throw up on the Philippe Chatrier clay.
Andreeva, meanwhile, felt so tense on match point that she told herself to imagine she was break point down instead.
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Mira Andreeva has booked a spot in her first Grand Slam final after victory on Philippe Chatrier
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World No2 Aryna Sabalenka looked unsettled from the off as she battled illness on the court
During a medical timeout the Belarusian attempted to settle her stomach, and clung on well
The Jedi mind trick worked so well that, when Andreeva sent a beautiful lob over a stranded Sabalenka, she reacted with a modest fist-pump — before coming back to reality and flinging her arms out with joy.
Andreeva now faces a fellow first-time Slam semi-finalist after No 12 seed Paolini made it a dream 24 hours for Italian tennis by upsetting Elena Rybakina 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
After Jannik Sinner became Italy’s first world No 1 on Tuesday, now the country has a man and a woman in the last four of a Slam for the first time.
Even far from her best, Sabalenka’s forceful play gave Andreeva a lot of food for thought
The 17-year-old battled capably to suppress her opponent’s dominant hitting on Wednesday
After conceding the second set, Sabalenka struggled to keep up with Andreeva in the third
Andreeva had two match points before she stunned the two-time Australian Open champion
The teenager pounced to snatch victory from Sabalenka – who has been in imperious form – and was rewarded with a swing at the title
The exits of Sabalenka and Rybakina — seeded second and fourth respectively — leave Iga Swiatek as the overwhelming favourite to win her third French Open in a row.
The Pole faces Coco Gauff today in the other semi-final, having won 10 of their 11 previous meetings.
