Anna Kalinskaya, curious parallel to Jannik Sinner: the epilogue, however, displaces everyone

Two days after the elimination of Jannik Sinner, who was forced to retire due to a physical collapse fostered by the heat, Roland Garros offered a curious parallel that featured the Azzurro’s former partner, Anna Kalinskaya. The Muscovite tennis player, opposed to Camila Osorio, experienced a tearful match that for a moment closely resembled what happened to the ATP number 1 herself.

Kalinskaya started with authority winning 6-3 the first set, but in the second she experienced a resounding lapse, with the Colombian taking advantage brilliantly winning 6-0 the fraction and taking the match to the deciding set. Given the temperature (highs of 33 degrees again today) and Sinner’s precedent, many had already begun to think of a new case of physical breakdown.

The third set, however, completely changed the picture: Kalinskaya recovered and immediately went ahead 3-0, after which she never looked back, leaving only two games to her opponent. Thus came the qualification to the round of 16, corresponding to the best result of her career in a Slam played in the Northern Hemisphere (in Australia, she had instead reached the quarters in 2024).

The confrontation between the two was a cue for discussion especially on social media: Sinner, two days ago against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, failed to recover after a physical decline. Kalinskaya, today, avoided the same epilogue by finding rhythm and solidity in the decisive moment. Two situations similar in the dynamics, but opposite in the result.

For Kalinskaya this eighth final represents a significant step: it is her best result in a European Slam, confirms the continuity of performance shown in recent months and projects her into a part of the scoreboard that can open interesting scenarios. For Sinner, on the other hand, there remains the need to recover energy and reprogram the season after a Roland Garros closed too early.