Roland Garros criticised for making bizarre mistake during Mirra Andreeva vs Marta Kostyuk
The controversy at Roland Garros has continued during Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk’s semi-final in the women’s draw.
Andreeva produced a stunning performance to dispatch Kostyuk in straight sets by a scoreline of 6-1, 6-3, but the weather played havoc yet again.
The match started with the roof open and the wind once again produced a problem for both players, but Roland Garros organisers have come under fire yet again for their decision to close the roof.
They closed the roof during the second set as rain was forecast and it did eventually chuck it down on the roof of Philippe-Chatrier.
While Roland Garros timed their decision perfectly, Chris Evert, Tim Henman, and Coco Vandeweghe were surprised to see the roof closure while the match was being played.
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Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of Roland Garros, Evert said: “It’s a distraction! You throw your toss up and there’s a roof moving. It’s darker one one side than the other.
Henman was slightly more diplomatic about the decision, stating: “They did time it absolutely perfectly. Yeah they had to, because it just chucked it down.”
Evert did eventually concede: “They were smart to do it,” but Vandewedghe criticised the decision and said they were lucky it did not massively halter play.
“It’s definitely a distraction, as many ways as you want to cut it,” said Vandeweghe on TNT Sports.
“I’m surprised by Marta Kostyuk, she could have used that to her advantage. Slowed things down. When you’re losing you want to slow things down as much as possible because you never know, Mirra Andreeva might blink and she kind of started to. But it just wasn’t enough time for Marta Kostyuk to be able to find her way back into this match.”
Andreeva will now await the winner between Maja Chwalińska and Diana Shnaider in the final, but she will likely be the favourite no matter who she plays.
The Russian star is the highest-ranked player left in the competition following Aryna Sabalenka’s exit from the quarter-finals and she is in the best form.
However, Chwalinska has been mightily impressive so far at the event. Coming through qualifying, she has picked up wins against Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, and Anna Kalinskaya.
Shnaider, meanwhile, has managed to dispatch Sabalenka and Madison Keys in impressive displays.
Shnaider and Andreeva know each other exceptionally well as they play plenty of doubles together, so that could be an added wrinkle in the final.
The final is due to take place on Saturday, 6th June, with the order of play yet to be announced by the Grand Slam.
