PARIS (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen in straight sets to reach the French Open semifinals for the second time on Tuesday.
Sabalenka, who is chasing her first title at Roland-Garros, overcame a shaky start and windy conditions to prevail 7-6 (3), 6-3 and extend her record against the Olympic champion to 7-1.
The score did not fully reflect the closeness of the quarterfinal, though, with so little separating the rivals. But Sabalenka demonstrated why she was No. 1, making the difference on big points, while Zheng struggled with her serve in tense moments.
Sabalenka will try to reach her sixth Grand Slam final, and first at Roland-Garros, against defending champion Iga Swiatek or Elina Svitolina.
Sabalenka lost her most recent match against Zheng last month in Rome, having previously dominated their first six encounters. She said that loss was actually a good thing in the middle of an already exhausting season.
“I was actually glad I lost that match, because I needed a little break before Roland-Garros,” Sabalenka said. “Today, I was just more fresh. I was ready to battle, I was ready to leave everything I had on court to get this win.”
Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, has yet to drop a set in Paris.
Zheng started strong on Court Philippe-Chatrier, breaking early and dominating with aggressive play.
However, two double faults in the eighth game allowed Sabalenka to break back and shift the momentum.
A misjudged call by Zheng in the 12th game nearly cost her, but she fought off a set point to force a tiebreaker. Sabalenka remained more consistent and secured the set after Zheng hit long on a drop shot.
Zheng saved a break point with an overhead shot in the fifth game of the second set, but Sabalenka’s powerful backhand return pinned her down on the next one, allowing the top-ranked player to move ahead 3–2. Zheng did not go down without a fight, though, and broke back immediately, only to drop her two last service games.
The loss ended a run of 10 consecutive match wins for Zheng at Roland-Garros, dating to last summer’s Olympic Games.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
