She will next face unseeded Karolina Muchova, a former Top 20 player, for a spot in her second Grand Slam final of the year.
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No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka ended Elina Svitolina’s run at the French Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win Tuesday, advancing to the clay-court Grand Slam semifinals for the first time in her career. The Australian Open champion, who had never advanced past the third round in Paris in five previous appearances, has yet to drop a set in five matches this year and has reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slams. She will next face unseeded Karolina Muchova, a former Top 20 player, for a spot in her second Grand Slam final of the year. In the other quarterfinal on Tuesday, the Czech defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
“She’s such a tough opponent, moving well, and what she’s doing after giving birth is so impressive,” Sabalenka said afterward. “A big respect to her. It was a tough match and I’m super happy with the win. When I was a kid, I practiced a lot on the clay, more than on hard court. I feel very comfortable on the clay, and hopefully I can go as far as I can here at Roland Garros.”
Sabalenka took control of the match in the middle of each set when she faced Svitolina for the third time in three years. She won three straight games after trailing 4-3 in the first set, and four in a row after trailing 2-0 in the second. She needed two match points to seal the victory and served out after trailing 0-30 in the final game. Sabalenka now has a 2-1 advantage in their overall head-to-head series.
Thiago Seyboth Wild of Brazil won the biggest match of his career on Tuesday, defeating World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in a five-set thriller at Roland Garros. Seyboth Wild made his Paris debut but showed no signs of nerves on Court Philippe Chatrier, swinging freely throughout the four-hour, 15-minute match to defeat the second seed 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. The World No. 172 hit 69 winners and overcame two set points in the second-set tie-break to win his first main-draw major. “I have watched Daniil play for my entire junior career, up until today. Playing on this court against this kind of player and beating him is a dream come true,” Seyboth Wild said. “Walking on court I just wanted to get to the net as much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well.”
Seyboth Wild, who has two ATP Challenger Tour titles this year, was playing in his first tour-level match of the year. In the second round, he will face either Frenchman Quentin Halys or Guido Pella, who he defeated in the first round. “It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”
