Mirra Andreeva vs Jasmine Paolini Predictions, Picks | French Open Semifinal Preview

Mirra Andreeva vs Jasmine Paolini Odds

The second semifinal from the women's draw features the two surprise players to reach this stage of the tournament in Mirra Andreeva vs Jasmine Paolini. With neither having reached this stage of a Grand Slam before, the nerves are sure to be present for both. In a way, it may be comforting to each of them to know that their opponent is under the same pressure they are.

Let's take a deeper look at the matchup that will determine the finalist from the bottom half of the women's draw.

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Andreeva Taking the Tennis World by Storm Again

After bursting onto the stage last season as a 16-year old, Andreeva made the third or fourth round at each of the first three main tour tournaments she played on the year (second, third and fourth of her career) in Madrid and then at the French Open and Wimbledon. Those are quite the tournaments to announce one's self. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that she had to qualify for the two Slam and did so losing just one set in six matches.

Fast forward to 2024 and she's doing it once more on the biggest stages. A quarterfinal in a WTA 500 down under, the second week of the Australian Open, quarters of Madrid and now the semis (at least) of the French Open.

It hasn't all been easy though. She has losses to Katie Volynets, a terribly out of form Barbora Krejcikova, Peyton Stearns and Anhelina Kalinina (on clay) over the course of the season. She was a pretty strong favorite in all of them, as she was in her lopsided defeat against Paula Badosa in Rome.

She has her issues, but the talent is as obvious as can be.

Paolini's Career Year Churns On

What a season for the 28-year 0ld who is set to enter the top 10 in the rankings on Monday for the first time.

She won her first WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai back in February and has solidified herself as a threat on the women's circuit with a semifinal in Paris.

Yet it hasn't been a perfect campaign, either. She's lost in her first or second match played at an event four times so far, with another two exits in the fourth round of 1000 events she had a bye in.

Her forehand can be absolutely deadly, but if she's forced to generate on that wing consistently, it does become fairly error prone. With Andreeva on the other side of the net, that could be an issue to watch for in the Italian's game on Thursday.

Andreeva vs Paolini Prediction

This match is tough to bet on. At her best, Andreeva has her first serve generating relatively cheap points, is a wall from the baseline and can outlast opponents. At her worst? The serve is vulnerable and if an opponent decides to push from the baseline as well, she's forced to overhit and a deluge of unforced errors ensues.

Similarly, when the Italian is playing her best tennis she covers the court extremely well and can counterpunch, but she can also generate plenty of offense on her own. When she isn't? The unforced errors come thick and fast and she can often look like she's a step or two slow.

If anything, I'd say with two women who can play consistent tennis but also can be volatile from the baseline, I'd lean towards the underdog or the over, but I'm happy to leave this match alone. As I outlined above, we've seen them both make nice runs this year, but we've also seen several early exits from each of them as well.

Pick: Hesitant to bet, but a lean to Paolini or the over