French Open: Jasmine Paolini was ‘too good’ for Mirra Andreeva, says Joe Durie - ‘She played beautifully’

ByBen Southby

Published 06/06/2024 at 18:29 GMT

Jasmine Paolini was deemed "too good" for Mirra Andreeva, as the Italian avenged her Madrid Open defeat against the 17-year-old to reach her first-ever Grand Slam final at Roland-Garros. Eurosport commentator Jo Durie described Paolini's performance as "fantastic", while Mats Wilander feels she is "the whole package". Paolini will face four-time major winner Iga Swiatek in the French Open final.

Eurosport commentator Jo Durie was full of praise for Jasmine Paolini following her Roland-Garros victory over Mirra Andreeva, as the Italian reached her first Grand Slam final.

Paolini was “too good” for 17-year-old Andreeva, according to Durie, despite the Russian beating her Italian counterpart earlier this season.

After the match, Paolini admitted that she used her “painful” Madrid Open defeat against Andreeva in April to fuel her determination for the French Open semi-final, and Durie feels she did so in style.

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An impressed Durie said on Eurosport after Paolini struck match point: “Wow, what a way to go about it. How fantastic was that?

“She did [dismantle Andreeva]. She played beautifully at the end, like she had no nerves at all. 

“I can feel for Andreeva, she tried her hardest but just nothing was happening. Her opponent was just too good in the end.”

French Open highlights - Paolini reaches maiden final with victory over Andreeva

Eurosport expert Mats Wilander echoed Durie’s thoughts on Paolini, describing her as “the complete package”.

“The execution was absolutely perfect,” Wilander told Eurosport. “Paolini, her forehand is just absolutely brilliant. 

“She takes the backhand early and hits it flat, so there are two different shots coming from her racket. A heavy top-spin forehand, a flat backhand - very difficult to play against.”

Up next for Paolini is four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, who beat Coco Gauff earlier on Thursday to reach her fifth major final.

'I'm really happy' - Paolini reacts to reaching maiden Roland-Garros final

Wilander feels 28-year-old Paolini will have to be more aggressive in her approach to have any chance of beating Swiatek in Saturday’s final.

“I think Paolini will only spend maybe five to 10 minutes to understand what she has to do, and from that point, she has to play more aggressively than she did today,” he said.

“More aggressive than in any other match that she has played in her whole life. It’s a very, very difficult situation when you don’t have a big serve and win points, but she’s in the finals for the first time.

"Who knows? Maybe she wins two Grand Slams before she’s done. Maybe we haven’t seen the best of Paolini yet.”

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Fellow Eurosport expert Alex Corretja feels it will be a tough task for Paolini to overcome Swiatek to win her first major tournament, but “has a great combination” to hurt Swiatek.

“You never know,” Corretja said on Paolini’s chances of beating the world No. 1. “The good thing from Paolini is that she can play solid from the baseline, and she can hit hard with the forehand. 

“Most of the girls sometimes either hit very hard or are very solid, but I think Paolini has a great combination, and maybe she can hurt Iga. 

“But Iga has been moving so well, and of course, the experience can help a lot. But maybe Paolini will say, ‘Okay, I’m going to go for it and I don’t care that much’. 

“We will see. I think it will be interesting but if Iga has her feet on the ground, it will be very tough to beat her.”

'Strange things can happen here' - Experts preview final between Swiatek and Paolini

Looking ahead to the final, which will be live and on-demand on discovery+, Wilander added: “It’s still impossible to say that I think [Paolini] has a chance to win, but many strange things have happened in French Open finals before.”

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You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+

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