Top-ranked Sabalenka ends Swiatek's 26-match French Open win streak

CBC

2 days ago

No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka ended Iga Swiatek's 26-match French Open unbeaten streak and reached the final in Paris for the first time by using her pure power to dominate down the stretch and win their semifinal 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 on Thursday.
Sabalenka's victory prevented Swiatek from becoming the first woman to win four consecutive championships at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament since professionals were admitted in 1968.
It also gives Sabalenka a chance to win her fourth major title, and first away from hard courts, after two at the Australian Open and one at the U.S. Open.
"It feels incredible, but I also understand that the job is not done yet," said Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus who took the top WTA ranking from Swiatek last October. "She's the toughest opponent, especially on the clay, especially at Roland-Garros. I'm proud that I was able to get this win. It was a tough match, but I managed it, somehow."
Sabalenka will face No. 2 Coco Gauff or 361st-ranked French wild-card entry Lois Boisson in the final on Saturday.
In a nod to Boisson's status as the home favourite, Sabalenka joked to the crowd during her post-match interview: "I'm pretty sure you're going to be cheering for one person like crazy, and I'm not sure if I really want her to win."
Most remarkable about Sabalenka's win Saturday, perhaps, was the way -her back dotted with flecks of the rust-colored clay - she dominated in crunch time, racing through the last set.
"I mean, 6-love," she said. "What can I say? Couldn't be more perfect than that."
Swiatek's explanation?
"I lost my intensity a bit," she said. "Just couldn't push back."
Terrific stretches of tennis
With the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof closed on a drizzly day, there was no wind or other elements for the players to confront, and both produced some terrific tennis for stretches. But in the end, the difference was that when Sabalenka decided to swing away, she rushed Swiatek into mistakes.
This stat says it all: The third set included 12 unforced errors off Swiatek's racket, and zero off Sabalenka's.
This continues a rough stretch for Swiatek, a 24-year-old from Poland, who has not even reached a final at any tournament since walking away with her third trophy in a row - and fifth Grand Slam title overall - from Paris 12 months ago. She recently slid to No. 5 in the rankings.
Her rut includes a surprising exit in the semifinals at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which were contested at Roland-Garros; she ended up with the bronze medal. Then, later last season, she was banned for a month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was unintentional and caused by a contaminated medicine.
Sabalenka is, unquestionably, as good as it gets in women's tennis right now.
Even before getting to this final, her six appearances in title matches this year were the most for a woman entering the French Open since Serena Williams in 2013.
And her first-strike tennis, always such a threat on faster surfaces, is clearly quite useful on the slower clay, too. On Saturday, the thuds generated by her contact with the ball reverberated off the inside of the retractable roof.
"She didn't doubt," Swiatek said. "She just went for it."
Even though Sabalenka broke in the first game and soon led 4-1 -- at which point Swiatek was glancing up at her coach, Wim Fissette, in the stands, hoping for some sort of insight that could change things -- this was not one-way traffic. Swiatek ended up leading 5-4 in that set, but when they got to the tiebreaker, Sabalenka asserted herself.
Swiatek took a lengthy trip to the locker room before the second set, something she often does after ceding one, and came out playing better, quickly breaking to 1-0.
The 15,000 or so spectators seemed mainly to be pulling for Swiatek, perhaps hoping to see a bit of history, and broke into chants of "I-ga!" rather frequently. That might have rubbed Sabalenka the wrong way, because after striking a return winner, she windmilled her arms at the mild reaction, as if to say, "Hey! I'm here, too! And I'm No. 1. How about sending some support this way?"