Aryna Sabalenka sets up blockbuster French Open showdown with Iga Swiatek
The post Aryna Sabalenka sets up blockbuster French Open showdown with Iga Swiatek appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The French Open is beginning to wind down and the best of the best are starting to battle it out with the season's second major on the line. On Tuesday, the top half of the women's draw got the quarterfinals started with some of the top players in the world, including Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
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Sabalenka kicked off the action on Court Philippe Chatrier with a hard-fought win over No. 8 seed Qinwen Zheng, 7-6(3) 6-3. Sabalenka and Zheng faced off in Rome just a couple of weeks prior to the start of Roland Garros, with the Chinese superstar coming away with the win.
However, Sabalenka got her revenge by being tougher in the big moments after battling back from an early break down in the opening set.
Swiatek, the three-time defending French Open champion, took to court next against No. 13 seed Elina Svitolina. Svitolina played the four-time champ closer than the final scoreline, but the No. 5 seed played phenomenally on the big points to come away with a gritty 6-1 7-5 victory.
That sets up a massive showdown on Thursday between Sabalenka and Swiatek in the semifinals. Swiatek has been in worse form this season, but it's hard to pick against someone who has lost just one match in the last five years at Roland Garros.
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On the other hand, Sabalenka has emerged as clearly the best player in the world. The World No. 1 is the rightful favorite at just about every event she enters, and she usually delivers. She has built a roughly 4,600-point lead in the rankings over No. 2 Coco Gauff, leaving no doubt about who is the queen of women's tennis.
Incredibly, Sabalenka an Swiatek have not met at a Grand Slam since the 2022 U.S. Open, when Swiatek won a very close semifinal before defeating Ons Jabeur in the championship match. They were just one point away from contesting the 2023 French Open final, but Sabalenka couldn't get over the line against Karolina Muchova in the semifinals.
Regardless of who you give the favorite status to, the battle on Thursday between Sabalenka and Swiatek will be tightly contested and will be one of the most highly-anticipated matches of the season, and very well could decide who wins the French Open.
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