The first five points of the breaker go against the server, make that six, as Chwalinska\u2019s vicious slice stops dead on the clay, leaving Kalinskaya with little chance. So they change ends at 3-all \u2026<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kalinskaya, perhaps panicked, rushes the opening points on her serve, losing the controlled aggression she has found as the set has progressed, and she slides 15-30 down. Credit to her for the way she comes back for 30-all, 40-30 and game. So much of the narrative here is on the Chwalinska, the qualifier, that it\u2019s easy to forget this is only Kalinskaya\u2019s second grand slam quarter-final and she\u2019ll be feeling the nerves. This will be a tense, tense tie-break.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kalinskaya looks to be the favourite from here, with her greater experience and power, though having said that the key to her comeback has been staying a bit more patient in the rallies and not trying to pull the trigger so quickly. At 30-all on Chwalinska\u2019s serve, the Pole pushes Kalinskaya deep before sprinting to the net to finish off the point. Smart play. And Chwalinska takes the next point too to staunch the flow of games against her and nudge 6-5 ahead.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kalinskaya is never a player to show much emotion, and with her game face on, she works her way to 40-15 with minimal fuss. Before crunching away a winner to settle matters. From 5-1 down, they\u2019re back on serve at 5-5! So who will feel the pressure now? Chwalinska, having conceded such a commanding lead and missed those two set points, or Kalinskaya, now she has something to lose again?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kalinskaya holds to 30 to further reduce her arrears, to 5-3. But Chwalinska will get another chance to serve this out \u2026 and comes out on top after a lung-busting 27-shot rally, finished off with a drop shot\/lob combination, for 30-15! Even Kalinskaya is applauding. Chwalinska delves into her box of tricks again to bring up 40-30, so here\u2019s another set point to add to the one the Pole had at at 5-1. Some big, brave hitting from Kalinskaya saves it. The wind is really ripping around Chatrier now, just to add to the drama. And this goes exactly the same way as game seven, as Kalinskaya breaks on a second BP! Remarkably, they\u2019re back on serve.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So Chwalinska is serving for the set \u2026 and she\u2019s playing as if this is her 34th grand slam quarter-final rather than her first. From 30-all, she advances to 40-30 \u2026 but Kalinskaya saves the best for last, fending off the set point with a backhand winner! Chwalinska, perhaps still thinking about that SP, makes a total hash of a smash at deuce, giving Kalinskaya the chance to break. And while the Russian doesn\u2019t on the first break point, she does on the second. Could the comeback be on? Kalinskaya trails 5-2 but at least she\u2019s starting to ask some questions of Chwalinska.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.57 EDT<\/p>\n Make that four, although the Pole is make to work for the hold, saving a break point at 30-40. Chwalinska is giving Kalinskaya so little rhythm and the Russian is totally befuddled in the next game as Chwalinska charges 15-40 ahead. Now Kalinskaya is trying to get in on the drop-shot act \u2026 but it\u2019s not her natural game, it doesn\u2019t work and Chwalinska charges forward before dispatching a winner into the open court! It\u2019s now 5-1. Phew.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The 5ft 5in left-hander Chwalinska, who makes up for her lack of height and power with intelligence, is drop-shotting and slicing Kalinskaya into submission here, and it gives her a break point at 30-40. Kalinskaya saves it with a big backhand \u2013 but soon enough it\u2019s break point again and after a nine-shot rally Kalinskaya\u2019s forehand drifts wide! Chwalinska breaks for 3-1 and that\u2019s three games on the spin.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.40 EDT<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s Chwalinska\u2019s turn to recover from 40-15 down on Kalinskaya\u2019s serve to break \u2026 and then she rattles through four successive points on serve to hold! The world No 114 is on the board and leads 2-1. This interview with Chwalinska and Swiatek as 15-year-olds is a good watch, btw. How good is their English, given their age?!?!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Chwalinska looks anything but stressed as she swiftly moves 40-15 ahead on serve in the opening game. But Kalinskaya comes back at her for deuce. Despite this being only a second grand slam quarter-final for Kalinskaya, the 22nd seed knows this match is on her racket, and she\u2019s trying to stamp her authority from the off. She has the greater firepower, which she demonstrates to get to her advantage. Chwalinska craftily works Kalinskaya around the court and saves the break point. But the next two points go Kalinskaya\u2019s way and the Russian breaks in the opening game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.24 EDT<\/p>\n The qualifier Chwalinska (pronounced Hfa-leen-ska in case you were wondering) is having the time of her life in Paris, having won all but one of her seven matches in straight sets, upsetting Zheng Qinwen, Elise Mertens and Maria Sakkari along the way. Her solitary grand slam match victory before this tournament came at Wimbledon four years ago, after she\u2019d taken a break from tennis because of depression. She has said she associated the sport with \u201cpressure, stress and crying\u201d but now has a more balanced approach: \u201cThe results don\u2019t define me as much as they did before. I just couldn\u2019t differentiate Maja and tennis player. I was just one.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Marta Kostyuk was her own toughest rival for so long during the early stages of her career. As she tried to navigate the pressure that accompanied her status as a teenage prodigy, she often struggled to think clearly on the court without her emotion, fears and desperation to succeed torpedoing her form.<\/p>\n The path towards unlocking her potential has been tough, requiring the Ukrainian to be honest with herself and encounter the right people to help take her forward. That work continues to pay off. Kostyuk made another significant breakthrough by ending the Ukraine derby as the victor, holding her nerve to defeat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 and reach a grand slam semi-final for the first time in her career.<\/p>\n Although Kostyuk has broken new ground in Paris, this is simply a continuation of the form she has put together during what is looking increasingly like a career-defining clay-court season. She is now on a 17-match winning run, having secured titles in Rouen and Madrid in the buildup to Paris. Considering the clarity and temperament she is playing with each time she steps on the court, she can clearly go further.<\/p>\n After firing down a final unreturned serve, Kostyuk struggled to hold back her emotions as she digested such a significant result. Still, even in her personal triumph, she started her speech on the court by referencing the war back home, earning a long, standing ovation.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to start with this historical match that we played today with Elina,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially Kyiv. So many people dead. I want to give this match to Ukrainian people and to their resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n This tournament has provided ample reminders of the horrors still unfolding in Ukraine. It started with Kostyuk waking up to the news that Russia had fired a missile within 100 metres of her family home, where her sister, mother and great aunt were staying, yet she had to compose herself and play her first-round match. Meanwhile, their compatriot Oleksandra Oliynykova has levelled stinging criticisms of the sport\u2019s handling of Russian players.<\/p>\n Another duel between a Russian and Ukrainian player beckons. Kostyuk will next face the 19\u2011year\u2011old Mirra Andreeva, who produced a stellar performance to dismantle Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3 and reach her second Paris semi-final. It will be a rematch of their recent final at the Madrid Open. Asked what it is like to play a Ukrainian player in these matches, Andreeva said: \u201cFor me it doesn\u2019t matter who I play. I really try to play against the ball that is coming at me. Usually it doesn\u2019t matter to me who I\u2019m playing against, so I\u2019m trying to really focus on the game and on the game plan that I have to use on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n The full report:<\/p>\n Share<\/a> For at least a few fleeting moments, it appeared that something significant might be unfolding on Tuesday beneath the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof. Rafael J\u00f3dar had started his first grand slam quarter-final desperate to make his mark and he spent the first 40 minutes eviscerating the ball off both sides, lasering groundstrokes that seemingly struck every line. He built a 5-2 lead over Alexander Zverev<\/a>, a game away from starting with a statement in the biggest match of his career.<\/p>\n Normalcy resumed quickly. J\u00f3dar\u2019s attempts to serve out the set ended in a break to love for the second seed, who quickly took control and refused to relinquish his position until the end of the match.<\/p>\n Zverev offered J\u00f3dar minimal breathing room for the rest of the encounter, serving extremely well and striking his forehand freely. In the process, the German took another step towards winning an elusive first grand slam title as he returned to the semi-finals of the French Open<\/a> with a 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3 win.<\/p>\n The past 10 days in Paris have been unlike any in the recent history of men\u2019s tennis, with so many of the top players suffering early upsets. As the dust has begun to settle on the early defeats for Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, the central question surrounding the men\u2019s draw in the final rounds is simple: can anyone beat Zverev?<\/p>\n After being repeatedly blocked by Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic and others, the door is clearly wide open. Beyond him, the world No 6, F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime, is the only remaining top-10 player. There are still some shooters left in the draw, quality players with big enough weapons to take him out, but while Zverev has navigated his section with few problems, reaching the semi-finals \u00adwithout facing a player ranked inside the top 25, the rest of the field has been in a frantic rush to take advantage of an opportunity that may never come again.<\/p>\n So many players have already worn themselves out in multiple five-set matches as they have battled to get through.<\/p>\n J\u00f3dar was a perfect example of this. Seeded 27th, he has been one of the revelations of the clay-court season. He entered the match leading the ATP with clay-court wins this year, compiling a record of 19 wins and three defeats, with quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome before his run at Roland Garros. But he navigated consecutive five-set matches for the first time in his career to reach the quarter-finals. After squandering his opportunity in the opening set, he quickly ran out of steam.<\/p>\n The top half of the draw, meanwhile, now more closely resembles a wrestling match than anything like tennis. So many players in the top section have been embroiled in \u00admarathon matches, not least Italy\u2019s Matteo Arnaldi, whose 17 hours and 54 minutes on court to reach the last eight is an open era record by, astoundingly, over two hours.<\/p>\n You can read the rest here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s showers have departed, there\u2019s even a bit of sunshine in Paris and the Philippe Chatrier roof is off as Kalinskaya and Chwalinska arrive on court. While we wait for the action to begin, here\u2019s Tumaini\u2019s take on what happened yesterday \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Today\u2019s singles order of play<\/p>\n COURT PHILIPPE CHATRIER \u2013 11am (10am BST)<\/p>\n Anna Kalinskaya (22, Russia) v Maja Chwalinska (Poland) Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Bonjour et bienvenue au jour onze de Roland Garros, where there\u2019s something of an eastern European and Italian takeover on Philippe Chatrier.<\/p>\n First it\u2019s the qualifier Maja Chwalinska \u2013 not the Pole who everyone thought would still be standing \u2013 against the 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya. Chwalinska, who came through the junior ranks with Iga Swiatek before their careers went in very different directions, had won only one grand slam match before this tournament, but the 24-year-old is now in the quarter-finals \u2013 a stage the 27-year-old Kalinskaya has admitted she didn\u2019t expect to reach either, having got this far at a major only once before, at the 2024 Australian Open.<\/p>\n![\"Tumaini](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Tumaini_Carayol_v2.png\")
Tumaini Carayol<\/p>\nTumaini Carayol<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka<\/a> (1, Belarus) v Diana Shnaider (25, Russia)
Felix Auger-Aliassime (4, Canada) v Flavio Cobolli (10, Italy)
Not before 8.15pm (7.15pm BST)
Matteo Berrettini (Italy) v Matteo Arnaldi (Italy)<\/p>\n