Chwalinska reaches French Open semi-finals

Poland’s Maja Chwalinska continued her remarkable French Open run by defeating Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(3), 6-3 here at Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.

The 24-year-old qualifier produced a composed display, frustrating the 22nd seed with her consistency and defensive resilience.

By extending rallies and forcing errors, Chwalinska became only the second qualifier in the Open era to reach the French Open semi-finals and just the sixth to achieve the feat at any Grand Slam.

After trading early breaks, Chwalinska moved 4-1 ahead in the opening set before Kalinskaya fought back to force a tie-break.

However, the Pole regained control and sealed the set when Kalinskaya sent a backhand long on set point.

Chwalinska carried that momentum into the second set, racing to a 4-1 lead as Kalinskaya struggled with unforced errors.

Although the Russian recovered one break, Chwalinska closed out the match to book a semi-final clash with either world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Diana Shnaider.

Chwalinska said she is staying grounded despite her fairytale run, admitting she feels nervous and stressed but remains focused on taking one match at a time.

“Every single match here is kind of crazy for me, I’m very grateful,” said Chwalinska, who has only dropped one set on her way to the last four. “Inside I’m nervous and stressed.

I try to focus on my game and I’m happy I managed that. Honestly I just try to win every match, I’m not focusing on confidence, I’m not comparing myself (with the top players).”