Match of the day: Women's final

The nuts and bolts of the match do not help much, either. Andreeva ran over Marta Kostyuk like a steamroller on Thursday while Chwalinska did to Diana Shnaider what Shnaider did to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal: she got under her skin and outplayed her.

They have both dropped just the one set on their way to today’s showdown, Andreeva to Marina Bassols Ribera in the second round and Chwalinska to Maria Sakkari in the third. Andreeva has been “in the zone” for the past two matches – she has rarely played better. Chwalinska, on the other hand, well… she has not faltered, flinched or faded from the moment she began her first qualifying match nearly three weeks ago.

 ➡️ Full women's singles draw

The 19-year-old world No.8 Andreeva hits with power and precision and moves like lightning. She is the one with experience, too: this is her third clay court final of the year (she won in Linz and lost in Madrid) and, over the past three years, she has been a regular fixture in the second week here. She knows her way around Roland-Garros.

Her opponent is simply soaking it all in. With a world ranking of No.114, Chwalinska has not had the chance to play in many Grand Slam events (this is her third) and as for reaching the final of one of them, that was a distant dream. That, though, may be her strength today.

When things go wrong for Andreeva, she frets. She looks as if her world is about to come crashing down around her. She shouts at her coach, Conchita Martinez (who sometimes shouts back). She looks flustered.

➡️ Read: Martinez proud of Uno champion Andreeva's evolution

When things go wrong for Chwalinska, she shrugs with a wry smile and a look on her face that says “oh, bother – that was supposed to hit the line”. And then goes back to what she was doing before. No pressure. No drama. Just focus. And it works.

The Pole is not particularly big or strong (she stands 5ft 5ins or 1.64m) but her biggest weapon is her ability to read her opponent’s game. She is a lefty with guile and court craft, one who loves to vary the pace, use the drop shot, play her backhand with slice or with power (she can do both) and all of that can befuddle anyone.

Andreeva has been dreaming of this moment since she first picked up a racquet at six years old. That she is so close to realising that dream is slightly scary but mainly exciting. It is also proof positive that everything she has been working on for the past year is finally paying off.

Like any teenager – she is 19 – she can get emotional but she and her team have worked on keeping calm and staying in the moment. So focused was she in her last match that she could see the individual fibres on the ball as she went to serve. 

“I have been trying to work on me being more calm, more positive,” she said. “I'm very focused, and I felt like recently I have been trying to do a lot of different stuff. Maybe now I have found what's been working very well for me, and I'm really trying to stick to that and do it every match that I play every time.”

In complete contrast, Chwalinska intends to prepare as she has for every round so far: with tea and telly.

“I'm going to sleep, and I'm going to drink my tea. I'm going to watch something good, maybe some tennis, because I'm a tennis freak a bit,” she said. 

She is neither a “method” tennis player nor a party animal. Her team were heading off for their customary pizza (they are very superstitious and eat the same meal every night) but she would leave them to it. “They're going to gain so much weight. It's going to be terrible,” she smiled. “I don’t eat pizza.”

All that TV watching has taught her everything she knows. She watched tennis “all day, every day” as a child, following Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“Sometimes I come back to these old matches and I watch them play, and it feels like poetry, really,” she said. “I feel like it really helps me with reading the game better.” 

That ability to read what her opponent is going to do next has carried her through nine matches here and up the rankings. From No.114 today, she is already projected to be No.21 on Monday and No.14 if she wins.

➡️ Read: The numbers behind Chwalinska's stunning run

Where does that leave us? Still heading into the unknown. Andreeva, by ranking and past experience, ought to be the overwhelming favourite. But Chwalinska, who has prefaced every round with the line “I’m the underdog”, has derailed nine opponents so far. She is enjoying every second of her time here.

They both want to win – obviously – but if Andreeva feels she needs to win then that could be her weakness, the one that the charming but ruthless Chwalinska can exploit.

Maybe then Maja will celebrate with something a little stronger than a cup of tea.