Tea and tennis: Maja Chwalinska keeping fully focused before French Open final
<p>Chwalinska beat Diana Shnaider 7-6(4), 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier, playing spectacular tennis and now sits on the verge of becoming the first qualifier in the professional era to win the French Open, but the 24-year-old is keen to block out any noise.</p><p>"<strong>Yeah, for sure. I mean I feel like I'm in a bubble, I'd say. I don't know what's going on. I'm just very happy to be here,</strong>" Chwalinska told reporters.</p><p>"<strong>I just try to focus on every single match, give my all, and then after the tournament, there will be time to kind of process it and breathe in, breathe out</strong>."</p><p>The Pole added that she was deliberately keeping her routine simple as she prepares for the biggest final of her career.</p><p>"<strong>I'm going to sleep, I'm going to drink my tea</strong>," she said.</p><p>"<strong>I'm going to watch something good, maybe some tennis, because I'm a bit of a tennis freak</strong>.</p><p>"<strong>I love watching tennis. When I was younger, I watched tennis all day, every day. So I feel like it really helps me with reading the game better</strong>."</p><p>Chwalinska's fairytale run has captured the imagination of Parisian fans, with many of them roaring her towards victory in her clash on the main showcourt.</p><p>"<strong>I feel like tennis is more enjoyable (when) you can share emotions with people. You can see their reactions. So I always enjoyed when there were people watching</strong>," Chwalinska said.</p><p>"<strong>I was surprised (by the crowd). It was a great moment for me. I really appreciate it and I'm grateful for it. I definitely feel the crowd helped me a lot and gave me a lot of energy</strong>."</p>