Chwalinska on the Brink of History at Roland Garros
PARIS: Maja Chwalinska will attempt to become only the second qualifier in the professional era to win a Grand Slam title on Saturday, following a remarkable run that has been "hard to process," but she faces her toughest test yet in the final against Mirra Andreeva.
Chwalinska, a 24-year-old Polish player, was cheered on by thousands of Polish fans during her semi-final victory over Diana Shnaider. Many of those fans might have expected to be watching four-time champion Iga Swiatek, but Chwalinska has emerged as a surprise contender.
She is hoping to emulate Emma Raducanu, the only man or woman in the Open era to win a Grand Slam singles tournament as a qualifier. "Let's not pretend someone expected it," admitted Chwalinska. "I mean, I was outside the top 100, and now I'm in the finals of a Grand Slam, so I feel like it's a big thing. So it's hard to process it, I guess."
Chwalinska has continued to defy her status as the world number 114 at Roland Garros, reeling off nine consecutive victories, including in qualifying, over a remarkable three weeks. Her charge through the draw suggests she can compete with eighth seed Andreeva on the biggest stage.
She dispatched Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen and Elise Mertens in straight sets in the first two rounds, winning the second sets in both matches 6-0. The only set Chwalinska has dropped in her three weeks in Paris came against Maria Sakkari in the last 32. She grew stronger in the later stages, saving perhaps her best performance for the semi-final against Aryna Sabalenka's conqueror Shnaider.
Chwalinska is already guaranteed to rise to at least 21st in the WTA rankings, securing her entry into all the sport's biggest events. Just twelve months ago, she watched the French Open while playing lower-tier events in Brescia and Bari in Italy, after losing in the second round of qualifying at Roland Garros.
She has more than doubled her career prize money of $864,030 by reaching the final, with 1.4 million euros ($1.63 million) for the runner-up and 2.8 million euros ($3.26 million) for the winner. However, she will not receive her cheque until after Saturday's final, so a Polish company funded her extended hotel stay in Paris. "For now, I'm playing, so I'm very grateful for the Oshee company to help me to cover my hotel expenses these three weeks now," said Chwalinska. "But other than that, no, I'm just focusing on tennis, and the rest I guess will come after the tournament."
Andreeva Sticking to Routine
Andreeva is far from a shock finalist and will be a strong favourite to lift her maiden Grand Slam title against a player who had only won one match at a major before this tournament. The 19-year-old Russian has long been tipped for the sport's biggest honours and has already won five WTA titles, including two at 1000-level events.
"It's important to do whatever I have been doing, no matter what stage of the tournament," she said. "We're just going to stick to the routine: practising before the match, playing Uno, talk about the match, warm-up, tape, and then go on the court. Nothing's going to change."
Andreeva has hardly been stretched in her six matches. She dropped the opening set to Marina Bassols Ribera in the second round but only lost two games in winning the next two. Andreeva has won all her other five matches in two brisk sets, allowing an opponent as many as four games in a set only once.
However, it will be Andreeva's first experience of a Slam final too, and she is taking nothing for granted. "She's been playing amazing these two weeks. Like three weeks for her," said Andreeva. "It's going to be a new match for both of us. I don't really know how she plays. I don't really know her game style."
