PARIS (AP) — With the insouciance of a 17-year-old having the time of her life in Paris, Mirra Andreeva says she and her coach work out a game plan before a tennis match — and then she forgets all about that, preferring to just wing it. Seems to be working out fine so far: The unseeded Russian is the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist in more than a quarter-century. Playing in only her sixth major tournament, Andreeva got past an ill No.
2 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 at the French Open on Wednesday. Next, on Thursday, Andreeva goes up against another surprising player: No. 12 Jasmine Paolini, a 28-year-old Italian who reached her first major semifinal by defeating No.
4 Elena Rybakina 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. “I always play the way I want to play. We have a plan with my coach for the match, but after, I forget everything, and when I play a match, I don’t have any thoughts in my head,” said the 38th-ranked Andreeva, who is based in Cannes and coached by 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez.
“So maybe I would say that my strength could be that I just play how I want to play and I do whatever I want to do.” Words many the parent of a teenager probably has heard at home. The other matchup Thursday will be No.
1 Iga Swiatek against No. 3 Coco Gauff . Swiatek is seeking her fifth Grand Slam title and fourth in Paris; Gauff won the U.
S. Open last September and was the runner-up to Swiatek at Roland Garros in 2022. They both won singles quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Gau.
