2026 French Open

Chwalinska 3/2 - 6/6 (8) Andreeva 

Chwalinska was the talk of the tourney, a qualifier who managed to fustigate everyone she played all the way to the Final. Her gimmick is that she's really good at taking the speed out of the ball, controlling the pace to give herself the best opportunities to find winners. But I had a feeling this strategy wasn't gonna work against Andreeva (indeed, this is one of most predictable matches I've seen in ages). Why? Because well....(to say this about a boy is pure compliment, but about a girl, it feels kinda icky, but)...Andreeva's young and dumb. She didn't realize she was supposed to be hypnotized by Chwalinska's magic, so she just pummeled her instead. Along the way everyone was treating Chwalinksa like a puzzle to be solved, but I figured Andreeva was only going to see her as a less talented competitor (which she is) and would steamroll over her (which she pretty much did). It did take Andreeva a coupla games early on to get the feel of the match but once she found her legs, it was over, Chwalinska had no answer for Andreeva's control and power.

Worth mentioning: (1) Sabalenka is still the best...until she flames out. Here she flamed out in the quarters to (25) Shnaider, who is a nice player, but there's no reason that she should bagel Sabalenka in the 3rd set, except that Sabalenka bageled herself. Shnaider then went on to get hypnotized by Chwalinska in the semis. (*) Would Sabalenka have beaten Chwalinska and then Andreeva? Well, as long as she didn't flame out, I think she would have. Point being: only Sabalenka can beat Sabalenka right now (she dispatched (16) Osaka in the 4th round without much effort), so she's gotta be the fave for Wimbledon. But I was impressed with Andreeva and I think she went up a level, so I'll be keeping an eye on her. 

(10) Cobolli 1/6/4/7/1 - 6/4/6/6/6 (2) Zverev

I thought Cobolli and Zverev were the two best players throughout the tourney, thought Zverev was the only one that could beat Cobolli after watching Cobolli destroy the American (18) Tien, who just couldn't do anything against him. To be fair, it did feel like Cobolli was playing the best tennis of his life, but he looked quite comfortable on the red clay and even got a freebie in the semis when Arnaldi retired without firing a shot. The story of the tourney besides the finalists was the wrist injury that forced Alcaraz to withdraw before the tourney began and the early upsets that knocked out (1) Sinner and (3) Djokovic, who must've thought they'd be seeing each other after Alcaraz disappeared, but neither of them made it too far.

As for the Final itself, Cobolli started slow, then recovered nicely in the 2nd set. I thought Cobolli would take the 3rd, too, but Zverev got the break and made it stick. Cobolli was up a break through most of the 4th set, but couldn't hold it, then went down early in the tiebreak, but rallied and finished it out (after a heartbreaking whiff on Set Point #1). Felt like Cobolli was on a roll, but not so much. He failed to ride the momentum and Zverev finished off the 5th set rather easily. Cobolli made a game of it and had a hell of a tourney, but Zverev's length and power were too much to overcome and it led to his first Grand Slam. Good run for Cobolli, great win for Zverev. (**)

(*) In the quarters, Chwalinska beat (22) Kalinskaya and I swear you could see the wheels turning in Kalinskaya's head: you could tell she was saying to herself 'I'm better than this chick, why can't I beat her!' Shnaider, too, in the semis was a ball of frustration. Chwalinska's mesmerism was on point but I think it was uniquely suited to Roland Garros, I don't see her being a factor in Wimbledon or the US.  

(**) I believe Alcaraz has already withdrawn from Wimbledon, too, so Zverev might be coming in as the popular favorite. Curious to see if Cobolli can keep it going on grass.  Keep an eye on (26) Mensik, who lost to Zverev in the semis, and (28) Fonseca, who looks ready to make a leap. And will Sinner, Shelton and Djokovic be ready after bowing out early in Roland Garros?