After a tournament of upsets, crash-outs and rank outsiders storming into the mainstream, the men’s and women’s French Open finals have ended up looking remarkably familiar. Three of the four finalists were seeds, with an Italian man and Polish woman both in the line-up. That they weren’t the expected pairing was testament to the upside-down quality of this Roland-Garros – and the determination of both characters.
Poland’s Maja Chwalinska had previously shown promise on clay but was always a highly unlikely finalist, rising from world No 114 to just outside the top 20 and coming through three qualifying matches to even make the main draw.
