5 most unexpected results from French Open 2024 ft. Mirra Andreeva defeating Aryna Sabalenka

The French Open finished yesterday, June 9, with Carlos Alcaraz winning his third Grand Slam title by beating Alexander Zverev in the final. Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, won her fourth French Open title in five years by beating Jasmine Paolini in the final.

Most of the top players performed reasonably well in this year’s tournament. However, there were a few upsets sprinkled here and there as the tournament progressed. Some of the more fancied players were defeated by lower-ranked players, causing some flutter among fans. In this article, we will take a look at five most unexpected results from the French Open in 2024:

#5. Corentin Moutet beat Nicolas Jarry(16) 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-0 (1st round):

There was a lot of bad blood between Moutet and Jarry after the former prevailed over the latter at the Chile Open last March and the partisan crowd behaved badly. It was Paris’ turn to return the favor to the Chilean at the French Open, as Moutet, the unseeded Frenchman and home favorite, played a superb match to dismantle his opponent.

Jarry was seeded 16th in the tournament and also finished runner-up at the Italian Open last month. However, the French crowd’s boorish behavior, along with Moutet’s forehand and drop shots, ensured that Jarry was knocked out in the first round itself. Moutet advanced to the fourth round before losing to Jannik Sinner.

#4. Viktorija Golubic beat Barbora Krejcikova (24) 7-6 (3) 6-4 (1st round):

Krejcikova, the 24th seed and also a former champion at Roland Garros, lost in straight sets to her unseeded opponent in the first round. Krejcikova won the French Open in 2021 but has been knocked out in the first in each of the three subsequent editions of the tournament.

Golubic was ranked 74th in the world when she caused the upset. Krejcikova fought toe to toe with her opponent in the first set but lost the set eventually. It was a very close match in all respects, but Golubic just did enough to sneak out a victory. She, however, lost to Anastasia Potapova in the second round.

#3. Matteo Arnaldi beat Andrey Rublev (6) 7-6 (6) 6-2 6-4 (3rd round):

Rublev is one of the most consistent players on the Tour, his tendency to underperform at Grand Slams notwithstanding. He also won the Madrid Open title last month.

Hence, nobody expected him to lose in the third round at Roland Garros without being able to take a set off Arnaldi. The 23-year-old Italian, then ranked 35th in the world, played a flawless match, especially at the net to stun the 26-year-old Russian.

Arnaldi had 13 break-point opportunities in the match and converted five of them. It was a dominating performance from him that left Rublev, the sixth seed and Madrid Open champion, stunned and looking for answers. However, the Italian lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.

#2. Jasmine Paolini (12) beat Elena Rybakina (4) 6-2 4-6 6-4 (quarterfinal):

Paolini’s was the success story of the tournament. Nobody expected the 12th seed to reach the final, but she managed to stun the tennis fraternity by doing so. On her way to the final, she toppled Rybakina in the quarterfinal in three sets.

Rybakina is one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour, but Paolini exceeded herself in beating the Kazakh. The 28-year-old Italian broke Rybakina seven times in the match despite the latter firing 10 aces in the match.

It was a resilient performance that held Paolini in good light and showcased her abilities. Paolini lost in the final to Swiatek but ought to be proud of her achievement.

#1. Mirra Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka (2) 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-4 (quarterfinal):

As far as upsets are concerned in this year’s tournament, Andreeva’s win over Sabalenka takes the cake. Nobody expected the 17-year-old from Russia to reach the semifinal.

However, she played an exceptional match to beat Rybakina, who was probably the second favorite to win the title after Swiatek at the start of the tournament.

Sabalenka did not serve well in the match and presented 14 break-point opportunities to the Russian teenager. Andreeva converted eight of them to stun the Belarusian and bounced back from a 0-1 deficit to win the last two sets. Andreeva lost to Paolini in the semifinal but made her country proud with her exploits.