Marta Kostyuk Breaks Down Loss to Mirra Andreeva at Roland Garros

There has been no shortage of exciting storylines throughout the clay court season, but Marta Kostyuk's dominance has been near the top of the list. However, Kostyuk's 17-match win streak came to an end in the Roland Garros semifinal at the hands of rival Mirra Andreeva.

Kostyuk and Andreeva are far from friends. Kostyuk is one of multiple Ukrainian stars who have been outspoken about Russian players on the WTA Tour. Just last month, Kostyuk did a backflip on the court after defeating Andreeva in the Madrid Masters championship match.

Andreeva got her revenge today with a resounding victory: 6-1, 6-3. Kostyuk never looked comfortable on the court and said as much during her post-match press conference. Below is a breakdown of Kostyuk's self-analysis.

"Take it with me to my grave."

Despite the disappointing loss, Kostyuk was all smiles in her press conference. When asked about her takeaways from this year, she said, "For sure my streak."

"I take it with me to the grave," she added with a laugh. "Yeah, very happy with my clay court season, just one loss. I mean, I would never believe if someone told me this couple months ago. Yeah, very happy."

Added Pressure

Given the bad blood between Kostyuk and Andreeva, it could be understood if either player was more nervous than usual before today's match. Kostuk explained her mindset entering the biggest match of her career.

"For me, usually when I go on court, I don't feel nervous," Kostyuk said. "I don't feel pressure, really. Maybe before the match, obviously, everyone feels more nervous. I would say, as I said before, I don't care who's at the other side of the net. So, I just go out and play the match."

The match didn't go Kostyuk's way

Kostyuk did not play her best game and chalked it up as one of those days where nothing works in your favor. "Everything that could go her way went her way. Everything that could not go my way didn't go my way," said Kostyuk. "So, you know, it's just the type of day."

Court Conditions

Heat was the biggest factor in Paris during week one, but windy conditions have wreaked havoc in the past few days. Even the closed roof did little to help Kostyuk stop Andreeva. "The wind helped a lot today," Kostyuk admitted.

She later said of her opponent, "She played good today. She played solid. She wasn't missing, you know. I was missing more. Obviously, felt pressure. She was serving much better today. I couldn't do a lot because the court is crazy slow, and she was retrieving all the balls, so I felt like I had to go for more. Obviously, that's what was making me make more mistakes, and that's it."

Pace

Kostyuk said the match felt close the entire time, but she did her best to focus point by point and ignore the score. However, the pace was definitely a factor. "The serve was not great for me today. I think I was rushing a lot. And yeah, just a bit more like chaotic."

Andreeva will face qualifier Maja Chwalińska in the women's singles final on Saturday, June 6. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

Add us as a preferred source on Google