3 hours ago
Key events
Already today, before tomorrow’s all-Italian men’s semi-final betwixt Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi, there’s been triumph for their compatriots Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, nan apical seeds, successful nan mixed doubles final, 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 against nan Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and nan American Evan King.
And congratulations to Britain’s Henry Patten who, on pinch his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara, is into his first French Open men’s doubles final. The 2024 Wimbledon and 2025 Australian Open champs defeated nan location brace Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 6-4.
Preamble
Salut! At nan commencement of nan tourney we were wondering really we’d header without ‘just’ Carlos Alcaraz. But past Jannik Sinner departed and Novak Djokovic too, and past Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff on pinch astir each of nan men’s and women’s apical ten, and it’s still been joyeux and amusant and incroyable. And aft Aryna Sabalenka snatched conclusion from nan jaws of triumph yesterday, guaranteeing 2 first-time expansive slam champions this weekend, there’s a wonderfully breathtaking consciousness of nan chartless and nan emotion that thing could hap connected women’s semi-finals time – but it’s besides intolerable to disregard nan protector that Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine has formed complete nan draw.
No 1 has felt that protector much painfully this fortnight than Marta Kostyuk, who recovered retired hours earlier her first-round lucifer that a rocket had struck adjacent to her family location successful Kyiv. Aged 23, it has taken Kostyuk clip arsenic a subordinate to portion her rich | talents together. Now, fuelled by nan knowledge she represents thing truthful overmuch bigger than herself while simultaneously being capable to put tennis into perspective, she’s connected a 17-match winning tally connected clay and is playing pinch nan belief she belongs astatine nan apical – but successful Russia’s Mirra Andreeva she faces nan highest-ranked subordinate near who was already being ordained arsenic a early slam champion erstwhile she burst into nan semi-finals arsenic a precocious 17-year-old successful 2024.
Kostyuk did negociate to conclusion Andreeva successful nan Madrid Open last a period ago – and if she tin propulsion disconnected triumph connected an moreover bigger shape to go nan first Ukrainian female to scope a awesome final, she could look different Russian, Diana Shnaider, connected Saturday. Shnaider, having stayed truthful impressively calm successful nan oculus of Sabalenka’s large wind yesterday, plays chap slam semi-final debutant Maja Chwalinska, nan Polish qualifier who is enjoying nan tally of her life but who, for illustration Kostyuk, is very alert location are bigger challenges successful life than sport, having taken an indefinite break from tennis 5 years agone because of depression. The committedness of 2 absorbing semi-finals is why we’re present today, but these matches are astir truthful overmuch more.
L’action commence: à 15h (2pm BST). Allons-y!
