Andreeva through to first Grand Slam final after cruising past Kostyuk at Roland Garros

[p]The ‌eighth seed seized control from the outset ‌and never loosened her grip on the contest, ‌overwhelming [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kostyuk-marta/8CZqQdSa/"]Kostyuk[/a] with her depth and aggression on ‌Court Philippe Chatrier to set up a title clash against compatriot [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shnaider-diana/028BdVOj/"]Diana Shnaider[/a] or Polish qualifier [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chwalinska-maja/OIxOD54s/"]Maja ‌Chwalinska[/a].[/p][p]As has become customary for Ukrainian ⁠players since Russia's ‌invasion of their country in 2022, Kostyuk did not ​pose for the traditional pre-match photograph with her opponent and there was no ​handshake at the net before or after the match.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="51ed7e0f-b8c9-4d3d-a9db-ea0b85914ecb" credit-line="Enetpulse" guid="257b2232-dfc3-4e06-9364-776703ed0e63" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/andreeva-mirra/lI6fOOat/"]Andreeva[/a], 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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p][b]"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,"[/b] ‌said Andreeva.[/p][p]"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.[/p][p][b]"All of these feelings combined, I've never felt anything like ⁠this, I'm very ⁠excited about the last ‌match here in Paris."[/b][/p][embed guid="f56cf5cc-24ce-45b2-9390-1ab31c7ce215" url="https://x.com/rolandgarros/status/2062543509513519361" social-type="twitter" /][p]Kostyuk seemed to struggle with early nerves and windy conditions, handing her opponent the first break with a double fault and an unforced backhand error while Andreeva picked up steam.[/p][p]The Ukrainian was out of sorts but briefly put up a fight in the second set when she broke back for 4-3, only to drop serve in the next game and continue to pepper the court with unforced errors.[/p][p]A final forehand wide gave Andreeva a deserved win after ‌one hour and 16 minutes of a one-sided encounter.[/p][p][b]"The conditions were tough, very ​windy, I couldn't understand which direction it was going, but I'm ‌happy I was able to stay focused,"[/b] said Andreeva after both players had continued to play when the roof was being closed.[/p][p]"I was ready to accept anything that happens. It felt like a day when anything could happen. I told myself I would fight, and if she ⁠had to win she would have ⁠to work for it. With ‌this mindset, I ended up winning and I'm very happy."[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/andreeva-m-lI6fOOat/kostyuk-m-8CZqQdSa/?mid=tMeHmEwK"]Check out the match stats here[/a][/b].[/p]