Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s number one, defeated Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (3), 6-3 to advance to the French Open semifinals.
In the opening set at a half-full Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sabalenka went down early on Tuesday in her first defeat to Zheng in her seven career matches last month.
“I had no idea how I could break her back and reclaim the first set,” she said. Sabalenka, who moved one step closer to her maiden French Open title, said, “I’m glad I found my rhythm and won.”
“I believe there is a reason why we’re all here. That gorgeous trophy is something everyone desires. I’m glad I have a second chance to perform better than I did the first time.
I’m really hoping to be very proud of myself by the clay court season’s conclusion.
Zheng, a Chinese player, vying to emulate Li Na’s 2011 success at Roland Garros, crushed a powerful forehand winner to take a 2-1 lead, but Sabalenka fought back five games later and was denied on set point while up 6-5.
The 27-year-old top seed avoided the disappointment by avoiding the tie-break with errors before the players swapped breaks in a high-speed second set.
Sabalenka set up a semifinal fight with either 13th seed Elina Svitolina or four-time champion Iga Swiatek after a huge forehand winner put her 5-3 up.
Source: Aljazeera
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