Four-time champion Iga Swiatek crashed out of the French Open semifinals after a 6-7(1), 6-4, 0-6 defeat to world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, ending her 26-game winning streak in the tournament.
Sabalenka’s power was too much for the defending champion, who was looking to become the first female player in the Open era since 1968 to win four consecutive titles in Paris.
The top seed will play second seed Coco Gauff in Saturday’s showcase match after the American easily defeated France’s wild card Lois Boisson.
“Honestly, it feels incredible but I understand the job is not done yet. I’m just thrilled today with this win and the atmosphere,” Sabalenka said.
“She’s the toughest opponent, especially on clay, especially at Roland Garros. It was a tough match it was a tricky match but I managed.”
Sabalenka, in her second French open semifinal and seeking her first title in Paris, powered into a 3-0 lead, twice breaking the Pole.
Swiatek, who has not won a title this year but reached the semifinals dropping just one set in five matches, looked completely out of sorts.
The Pole, who late last year accepted a one-month doping ban, struggled with her serve and had racked up two double faults by the fifth game.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
The Pole, who late last year accepted a one-month doping ban, struggled with her serve and had racked up two double faults by the fifth game.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images
With seven unforced errors in the first three games she was playing catchup from the start.
The Pole, who late last year accepted a one-month doping ban, struggled with her serve and had racked up two double faults by the fifth game.
“I love playing here, so for sure I’m happy I was fortunate enough to play so many great tournaments here. Even this one, I played better than weeks before,” Swiatek told reporters. “So I’m just happy that I have this place to come back to every year and just try to push myself.”
“The pace was from her super fast,” Swiatek said. “Especially in the beginning of the match, she played as hard as possible and pretty risky. So it was just hard to get into any rally.
“And then, I was able to do that … so more things happened because it wasn’t just like serve and one shot or return and one shot, and I could build a rally a little bit.
“But in the third set I feel like we came back to what happened in the first, and she used her chances, and I didn’t really keep up what I was doing in the second set.”
She gradually, however, found her range and precision, countering Sabalenka’s raw power with superb ball placement and levelled when her opponent double-faulted on break point.
The Belarusian was furious, angrily shouting to her team in the box, before overrunning her opponent in the tiebreak.
The pair traded breaks at the start of the second set before Swiatek earned another to level the match.
But Sabalenka again broke the 24-year-old world number five at the start of the third to take control and she powered through the decider as the Pole ran out of steam. “It could not be more perfect than that,” Sabalenka said of her third set performance. “I’m super proud right now, I’m glad I found my serve (again in the third set).”
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