{"id":685013,"date":"2026-06-05T02:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/685013\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T02:05:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:05:18","slug":"french-open-womens-semifinals-recap-how-three-games-explained-the-two-matches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/685013\/","title":{"rendered":"French Open women\u2019s semifinals recap: How three games explained the two matches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow The Athletic\u2019s French Open coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On Day 12, the women\u2019s semifinals arrived, with all four players in search of their first appearance in a Grand Slam final.<\/p>\n

How did a nervy start determine the trajectory of almost an entire match?<\/p>\n

Tennis matches are never usually decided in the first two games, but they can dictate the direction of travel.<\/p>\n

It was Marta Kostyuk<\/a> who seemed nervous on Court Philippe-Chatrier Thursday afternoon, during the opening game of her first Grand Slam singles semifinal against Mirra Andreeva<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian No. 15 seed served two double faults, gifting an easy break for Andreeva, who was playing in only her second Grand Slam semifinal. But the Russian No. 8 seed showed her own nerves in her service game, double-faulting once and trailing 0-40 to give Kostyuk an immediate opportunity to reset the match.<\/p>\n

But Kostyuk made three consecutive errors, letting Andreeva claw her way back to deuce. A point later, she pulled out an ace to hold serve and lead 2-0. It was a Sliding Doors moment.<\/p>\n

Had Kostyuk broken back to level the score at 1-1, she could have treated that first service game as if it had never happened, wiped the slate clean mentally and moved on. But losing the first two games when Kostyuk really should not have done \u2014 first because she was serving and then when Andreeva was 0-40 down \u2014 set the tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t start the best, but, you know, it happens,\u201d the 23-year-old said in her news conference. \u201c\u2026I was missing more. Obviously felt pressure\u2026The serve was not great for me today. I was rushing a lot, and just, a bit more chaotic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreeva, ranked No. 8 in the world, took the momentum and ran with it, racing to a healthy 4-0 advantage and eventually taking the first set for the loss of just one game, to set up a 6-1, 6-3 win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I get nervous when I serve, I think: \u2018She also can get nervous when she serves,’\u201d Andreeva, 19, said in her press conference. She has been working on her concentration and visualization process to the extent that she said she could see the individual hairs on the ball throughout the match.<\/p>\n

A similar situation which dictated the rest of the match occurred in last year\u2019s Wimbledon final, when American Amanda Anisimova, trailing 2-0, could not convert one of the four game points in her second service game against world No. 2 Iga \u015awi\u0105tek.<\/p>\n

Had she done so, she would have at least got on the scoreboard, albeit still a break of serve down, and given \u015awi\u0105tek something to worry about. Instead, the four-time French Open champion ran away with the set, ultimately double-bageling Anisimova to win her maiden Wimbledon title<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kostyuk\u2019s slow start proved extremely costly, as Andreeva found comfort in her 2-0 cushion and raced to the first set 6-1. By the time Kostyuk found her range deep into the second set, it was too late.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlotte Harpur<\/p>\n

And how did one game toward the end of another define it?<\/p>\n

In the second semifinal, the game in which Diana Shnaider<\/a> was broken for 5-4 to leave Maja Chwali\u0144ska<\/a> serving for the match could be dismissed as a sloppy few points and some bad decision-making.<\/p>\n

But that single game was the culmination of two hours of head-scrambling tennis from Chwali\u0144ska, the 24-year-old Polish world No. 114<\/a>, who on Thursday became only the second qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final after beating Shnaider 7-6(4), 6-4.<\/p>\n

Chwali\u0144ska\u2019s powers of defence were extraordinary, returning the ball from improbable positions not just back into the court, but into neutral positions from which Russia\u2019s Shnaider, 22, could barely attack.<\/p>\n

At 4-4 in the second set, after Chwali\u0144ska had taken the first on a tiebreak, the pattern of the match was set. Shnaider would try to dominate from the back of the court; Chwali\u0144ska would neutralize her with a buffet of spins and slices. The rally would play out, Shnaider would make the first move and either make an error or be foiled by Chwali\u0144ska\u2019s equally remarkable ability to turn defense into attack.<\/p>\n

The first point of the game was crucial. Shnaider put herself in a position to win it when she arced a crosscourt backhand right into the corner of the court, to leave herself with a seemingly easy winner.<\/p>\n

But rather than flick Chwali\u0144ska\u2019s reply into the open side of the court, Shnaider second-guessed herself and tried to put the ball back behind her opponent. Chwali\u0144ska, one step ahead, was waiting to hoist up a lob.<\/p>\n

That gave Shnaider the same choice: Hit into the open court, or try and wrongfoot her opponent. Again she chose the latter option, and again Chwali\u0144ska read it, slotting a backhand pass down the line that Shnaider could only half-volley long.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the next-but-one point, Shnaider netted a backhand off a loopy one from Chwali\u0144ska to fall to 15-30. This led her to look at her team as if to say: What on earth am I supposed to do here?<\/p>\n

On the next one, a frazzled Shnaider tried a moonball herself, and then, desperately searching for answers, she hit a ropey drop shot that Chwali\u0144ska countered with a drop shot of her own, setting her up for an easy volley winner.<\/p>\n

Chwali\u0144ska had earned herself two break points, and took the first with another drop shot that Shnaider couldn\u2019t chase down.<\/p>\n

Out-hought, outrun, outclassed. This one game said everything about how Chwali\u0144ska bridged a gap of more than 90 places to claim a place in her first Grand Slam final.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

Shot\u00a0of the day<\/p>\n

Chwali\u0144ska has played plenty of points that show what she\u2019s all about this tournament. Here\u2019s one more:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

(France TV)<\/p>\n

Drop Shots<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcb0 How match-fixers prey on tennis players<\/a> living a hand-to-mouth existence lower down the sport\u2019s rankings.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc15 Tennis stars are traveling with their dogs<\/a> more than ever. At Roland Garros, they are very pampered pups.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83c\udfeb How two female coaches from very different worlds<\/a> arrived at a French Open semifinal.<\/p>\n

Up next: Men\u2019s semifinals<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk (26) vs. Alexander Zverev (2)<\/p>\n

8:30 a.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max<\/p>\n

Zverev, 29, is the last player standing of his generation \u2014 the group who looked set to benefit from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic aging out, but instead ran into the rising juggernaut of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. He may never get a better chance to win an elusive major. Between the German and the final stands Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk, the 20-year-old Czech who barely survived his second-round match before growing into the tournament. Both men have huge serves, so this match will be one of fine margins and taking care of service games. Whether or not Men\u0161\u00edk\u2019s forehand holds up \u2014 a weaker shot which has enjoyed both the high bounce of the heat and the slow speed of the cold \u2014 will be key.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Matteo Arnaldi vs. Flavio Cobolli (10)<\/p>\n

Not before 1 p.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max<\/p>\n

Arnaldi and Cobolli have similar play styles, with the latter a little more front-foot and aggressive and the former more of a master of defense. But both are capable of scrambling and digging out points they appear to have lost, and neither has the superpower serves that can end points quickly. Cobolli, 24, used his kick serve, which jumps off the court and above players\u2019 shoulders, to pin back F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime in his quarterfinal, and he should be able to do that here; Arnaldi, 25, will want to find the lobs and improvisations that bamboozled Frances Tiafoe in the last 16.<\/p>\n

French Open women\u2019s draw 2026French Open men\u2019s draw 2026<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the 12th day\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow The Athletic\u2019s French Open coverage Welcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[690,99,1794,428],"class_list":["post-685013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-culture","tag-sports","tag-sports-business","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=685013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}