Key events
Ah, and Cirstea is on the board, a hold sparing her the embarrassment of a double bagel. But can she compete?
In the time since play started, Andreeva has imposed herself, a bagel set putting her in complete control; the roof is closed.
Preamble
Salut à tous et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – dixième jour!
On the one hand, we’ve only three singles matches in this session … and on the other, just look at them!
We saw Mirra Andreeva coming a mile off, a talent so luminous so young and technique so pretty, it was hard to believe she was only 15 … except she looked and acted like she was only 15, a cheeky, impetuous sprite with very obvious flaws. Now a venerable 19, the obvious flaws remain – we are who we are – and also, she’s much better at working with them – we create ourselves afresh every day. But is she ready to win a grand slam?
Her defensive inclination, the consequence of power yet to fully develop, is unlikely to undermine her against Sorana Cirstea, a veteran of composure and nous, but the matchup is no gimme. “There is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,” Cirstea said after her fourth-round win, evidence of a burgeoning sense of mission – understandably so, given she’d just set a record for the longest gap between a player’s first two quarter-finals at a women’s singles major in the open era. We can be almost certain she won’t shrink, and if she can take away what Andreeva does best, denying her width, angle and backhands, she has a chance.
Following them on to court is a Ukrainian derby of affirming excitement. Elina Svitolina is a wonder of womanhood, taking time off to have a baby and returning an entirely different player: stronger, fresher and attacking her shots with the conviction of equilibrium. She knows she represents something bigger than herself – her family and her people – using emotion to elevate, and bringing the crowds with her.
Marta Kostyuk’s story is not dissimilar. The night before her round one match, a Russian bomb hit close to her family home and, like Svitolina, it’s taken her a while to find her identity as a player, struggling to assimilate her vast toolbox into the maelstrom of moments and the stress of elite sport. But she’s there now, unbeaten through the clay-court swing having won 15 matches in a row, her power, agility and brain synchronised into the very model of a modern major tenniser. She’s ready to win today and, for the first time, she’s ready to contest a semi-final and final.
We complete our day-sesh with le bangeur of a men’s match. After his undressing by Jannik Sinner in last year’s Aussie Open final, Alexander Zverev – the best player never to win a grand slam – clearly thought his time had gone and rightly so. But the absence of Carlos Alcaraz along with the exits of Sinner and Novak Djokovic mean he is now the overwhelming favourite, the chance of lifetime – one he surely thought he’d never get – bringing with it overwhelming pressure.
And Rafael Jodar will only compound that, the soaring 19-year-old unknown a year ago and now a serious force in the game – especially on clay. His forehand is terrifying and line backhand nasty, but even more apparent is his temperament: to get here, he’s won two five-setters in a row, riding the fluctuations and undulations with maturity and joy. We don’t know what he’s got left; we do know we’ll see absolutely all of it.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying we’re in for an absolute treat. Chauette! On y va!
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