PARIS (AP) — Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam final by beating Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-1, 6-3 at the French Open on Thursday.
Andreeva converted her first match point when she served for the match. There was no post-match handshake between them and Kostyuk walked off quickly, turning only to wave and blow kisses to the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier, which saw some fans 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 side 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 invasion of Ukraine is having on their country.
Later Thursday, the other semifinal featured left-handed players Diana Shnaider of Russia and Maja Chwalinska of Poland.
Top-seeded Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy won the mixed doubles final earlier Thursday, beating Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and American Evan King 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.
An Italian is guaranteed to be in Sunday's men's Open singles final, with Flavio Cobolli facing fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Friday in the first Grand Slam semifinal for both players.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
