Right before one of the most unexpected finals of the season between Mirra Andreeva and Maja Chwalinska at the  French Open on Saturday, former ATP pro John McEnroe reminded everyone of the time Emma Raducanu etched her name in the history book. The young Brit qualifier stunned everyone by taking out big names to win the 2021 US Open title. And this time, he believes Chwalinska has the same potential.

“I love the way she (Chwalinska) plays,” he said during the TNT Sports coverage. “She’s got just the feel of knowing what to do on clay and being small, I think she’s less hurt by her serve and she more or less spins it in. So, she’s not winning a lot of free points. She’s winning on guile and court sense; she’s unbelievable at that. But it’s a big ask. But hey Emma (Raducanu) did it, right?”

While Andreeva is the fourth-youngest women’s player to reach the French Open final in the last 30 years, Chwalinska is only the second qualifier after Emma Raducanu to make it to a Grand Slam final. Both of them have never reached a major final before, so the winner will leave Paris with the biggest win and title of her career.

It is hard to pick a winner between the two as both of them have been quite dominant in the tournament. Notably, both Andreeva and Chwalinska have dropped just one set each at the French Open so far and have recorded comfortable wins on the majority of occasions. They have also knocked out multiple seeded opponents and have clearly been the two best players in the women’s draw.

Andreeva has made light work of formidable competitors like Sorana Cirstea and Marta Kostyuk in the last two rounds. She first handed a one-sided 6-0, 6-3 defeat to the veteran Cirstea and followed it by snapping Kostyuk’s 16-match winning streak on clay with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-3 victory in the semifinal.

On the other hand, Chwalinska had also been drawn against tough opponents in the past two rounds but got past them quite comfortably. She first met World No. 24 Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals and defied all odds by recording a 7-6, 6-3 victory. The Pole then faced Diana Shnaider, who had caused one of the biggest upsets of the tournament by eliminating Aryna Sabalenka in the last 8.

Though her opponent was once again favored to win, Chwalinska went on to give a stunning performance and racked up a 7-6, 6-4 triumph to become the first-ever qualifier to headline the women’s singles final at Roland Garros.

A victory in the final would be a major boost for both players in the rankings as well. As it stands, Andreeva is likely to rise up from No. 8 to 6 regardless of the result in the final. For Chwalinska, it has already been a dream campaign. Having entered the tournament as No. 114, she is already expected to rise 93 places and move to No. 21. However, a win in the final would likely mean that she ends up in the No. 14 spot.

While both players have never been involved in such a high-stakes match before, the pressure will be on Chwalinska as she faces one of the highest-ranked players on the WTA tour. But Andreeva herself has been quite impressed with the Pole’s performance in the tournament and feels that she will provide a tough challenge in the final.

Mirra Andreeva hails Maja Chwalinska for ‘unbelievable’ French Open run

“She’s been playing amazing three weeks for her, because she passed through qualies,” Andreeva had said during her post-match press conference on June 4. “She’s been playing unbelievable. I don’t really know how she plays. I don’t really know her game style. We’ll just try to prepare for the final the best we can.”

Having never faced Chwalinska before, Andreeva is looking forward to the new challenge and feels that the match can turn out to be a great contest.

“It’s going to be very entertaining, very interesting, as well, because obviously I have never played against her. It’s going to be a new match for both of us,” she added.

On the other hand, Chwalinska was also full of praise for Andreeva ahead of the final, describing her performance in the semis as “incredible”.

“I have played like eight matches here already or more. So, there are no secrets,” she had said when asked about her thoughts on reaching the final during the post-match interview. “I watched Mirra Andreeva a bit playing before us, so I watched her game. It was incredible. It is just another great experience for me. I will for sure give my all – it is a Grand Slam final.”

Will Andreeva prove to be too good for Chwalinska in the final, or will the Pole go on to miraculously triumph on the clay-courts of Paris? We will have to wait and see.