Crowd support the highlight of Ukrainian Kostyuk's French Open

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk declared she would carry her remarkable claycourt winning streak "to the grave" after it concluded in the French Open semi-finals against Russia's Mirra Andreeva. Kostyuk's 6-1, 6-3 defeat ended a 17-match winning run on clay this season, a streak that included a Madrid Open title and a prior victory over Andreeva in that final.

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For sure, my streak. I take it with me to the grave. Very happy with my claycourt season, just one loss. I would never believe it if someone told me this a couple of months ago.

"For sure, my streak. I take it with me to the grave," Kostyuk told reporters with a smile. "Very happy with my claycourt season, just one loss. I would never believe it if someone told me this a couple of months ago." The 15th seed struggled to find her rhythm against the relentless Andreeva, who advanced to her maiden Grand Slam final. Kostyuk, however, refused to dwell on the defeat, stating, "Everything that could go her way went her way. Everything that could not go my way didn't go my way."

While the loss prevented her from reaching a first Grand Slam final, Kostyuk identified the crowd's ovations after her quarter-final victory against fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina as the emotional high point of her tournament. The Roland Garros crowd responded warmly to her consistent efforts to maintain focus on Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion.

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Everything that could go her way went her way. Everything that could not go my way didn't go my way.

"I will never forget the ovations that I received after my match in the quarter-finals," she said. "This is something I will carry with me forever and I will never believe anyone who is at the world stage of this sport saying that they have zero influence. If you want to, you can do anything. This was proof for me."

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I will never forget the ovations that I received after my match in the quarter-finals. This is something I will carry with me forever and I will never believe anyone who is at the world stage of this sport saying that they have zero influence. If you want to, you can do anything. This was proof for me.

Kostyuk, who has been vocal about the war and critical of Russian players, emphasized that these moments of support meant as much to her as her breakthrough run to a major semi-final. "I'm obviously very happy that I made it to the semi-finals, but I feel like this is the highlight of my tournament," she said of the crowd support. The 23-year-old also credited years of therapy and self-reflection for transforming both her tennis and her outlook, stating, "When the full-scale war started, I realised that I needed to change my perspective on life because it's clearly not just tennis. The battles that I've won against myself and in my head, Grand Slams are nothing compared to it. Playing tennis is very easy."

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I'm obviously very happy that I made it to the semi-finals, but I feel like this is the highlight of my tournament.