Kostyuk

No handshake and no photo as Mirra Andreeva of Russia beats Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine to reach French Open tennis final.

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam final by beating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-1, 6-3 in a tense encounter at the French Open.

Andreeva converted her first match point when she served for the tennis match on Thursday.

There was no post-match handshake between the pair, however, and Kostyuk walked off quickly, turning only to wave and blow kisses to the crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier, where some fans were draped in Ukrainian flags.

The atmosphere beforehand was somewhat tense as the players had separate photos taken as they each stood next to two children on their respective sides of the net. Usually, the players pose for the same photo, standing right next to each other by the net.

Kostyuk and countrywoman Oleksandra Oliynykova have spoken out during the tournament about the impact Russia’s four-year invasion of Ukraine is having on their country.

The eighth seed seized control from the outset and never loosened her grip on the contest, overwhelming Kostyuk with her ⁠depth and aggression on Court Philippe-Chatrier to set up a title clash against compatriot Diana Shnaider or Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska.

Andreeva, 19, raced into a 4-0 lead in the opening set and barely looked back in the third meeting between the two ⁠players, the Ukrainian having won the first ⁠two.

Kostyuk briefly threatened to make a contest of it in the second set, but the Russian swiftly snuffed out any hopes of a comeback before serving ⁠out the match to complete a dominant display.

“I’m still very nervous, very nervous coming to ⁠this match as she’s had an ⁠amazing season, she hadn’t lost on clay, so that put pressure,” said Andreeva.

“She’s an amazing player, a tough opponent, so I’m super happy with the way ‌I played. I’m happy I got revenge for the Madrid final, and to reach my first Grand Slam final.

“All of these ‌feelings ‌combined, I’ve never felt anything like this. I’m very excited about the last match here in Paris.”

Top-seeded Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy won the mixed doubles final earlier Thursday, beating Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Evan King of the US 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.

An Italian is guaranteed to be in Sunday’s men’s French Open singles final, with Flavio Cobolli facing fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Friday in the first Grand Slam semifinal for both players.

Kostyuk was overcome with emotion following her historic meeting with Svitolina, which came a day after one of Moscow’s largest assaults on Ukraine in recent months.

She has been vocal in her criticism of Russian players who have failed to denounce the war and, like her compatriots, has maintained a policy of not shaking hands with opponents from Russia and its ally Belarus.

On the apparent reluctance of her Russian counterparts to speak about the war, Kostyuk said: “For me, it’s not frustrating anymore. They are all grown-ups.

“They are clearly aware of what’s going on. If this is something that they want to avoid talking about, they have to live with this, not me.

“I don’t know how you can sleep at night peacefully when you know that this is going on and you have nothing to say about it.”

Asked about facing a Ukrainian player next, Andreeva told the media: “It doesn’t matter who I play. I really try to play against the ball that is coming at me and focus on the game.”

Driven to deliver the title for Ukraine, Kostyuk will head into her semi-final on a 17-match winning streak on the clay this season.

“I still think it [the title] is very far. I have two matches to play and hopefully you will come and support me on Thursday,” Kostyuk told the crowd, who gave her a standing ovation and waved Ukrainian flags.

Asked if she would perform another backflip at Roland Garros, just as she did after beating Andreeva to win the Madrid Open last month, Kostyuk added: “In Madrid I practised the day before the final.

“I don’t need to practise here – I did it a month ago – but I promised I will only do it again when I win a final.”