Aryna Sabalenka has beat the undefeated Iga Swiadek for over 1400 days. Now she has the chance of her first Grand Slam title on sand.
In the end it went very quickly. Aryna Sabalenka ended the one-sided third set and the semi-finals against IGA Swiadek with a return return gain. For the first time in her career, the Belarusin is in the Finale of the French Open.
She ended the 26-first series of her opponent Iga Swiatek, who had retired in the form of earlier days at this tournament. Both the winning streak of Swiatek and the final premiere of Sabalenka are remarkable news. Because Sabalenka not only stopped the run of the Polish and four -time winner, she also closed the gap a little further in direct comparison of the two. 13 times the two played against each other in their still not long careers. Swiatek left the place as the winner eight times.
Swiatek against Sabalenka – a new rivalry?
Tennis lives from rivalries. Classics where you already know when it comes to setting: It will be good. Matches by Stefanie Graf against Monica Seles were looking forward to people, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert met every week in the 1970s and 1980s.
Swiatek and Sabalenka have already played memory matches against each other. Her final in Madrid in spring 2024 was the match of the year for most who persecuted it. The semi-finals on the Court Philippe Chatrier will not go into history, but it made headlines in the women’s tennis, which are thirsting for attention, both ahead and afterwards.
Swiatek can only react against Sabelenka
Swiadek had shown in the ten days from Paris that she was to be expected again. Forget the weeks in which it had an unusually early defeats for them. Her victory against Elena Rybakina was impressive. After a weak first set, she had adapted her game and went out of the match as the winner.
In the semi -finals against Sabalenka, she also did not help her tactical adjustment. After the false start in the first sentence, she consolidated, but the third sentence was demonstrated for the current world ranking list. “It was very difficult for me to get into a ball change. The speed of her was super fast. She played as hard and risky as possible from the start,” said Swiatek in her press conference after the match.
Sabalenka took the match from the racket. That had never happened to the four-time Roland Garros winner. The Polish could only react. In the third set she had almost no chance: “I lost the intensity in the third set and she really served extremely well and was able to read my serves very well.”
Lawn, hard court or sand? Doesn’t matter!
The semi -finals of Paris was probably the most impressive sign that Sabalenka can now dominate on any surface. Your “A lot helps a lot” game is overwhelming in the best phases. She pulls her game through uncompromisingly, can push most of the opponents off the pitch. In the case of Swiatek, this was not successful in the past, especially on sand. Swiadek had always found ways and ways through her returns or her strong forehand to escape the pressure of Sabalenka.
In the press conference after the match, the Belarussin pointed out that he had worked a lot on her game, especially on sand in the past few months: “I am physically just a lot better. It is very important to be physically very strong on sand and being ready for every point. I also worked on the spin for the sand. I have more variability.”
Finale against Coco Gauff
Sabalenka was relieved that the semi -finals were played without influence on external influences. The roof over the chatrier was closed because of rain, no sun that heated the square to support the cutting -rich game of Swiadek. No wind that let the massive projects of Sabalenka sail into the end. Laboratory conditions for the three-time Grand Slam winner.
In the final, Sabalenka will meet the American Coco Gauff. She convinced mostly confident performance here and will confidently go to the final. Sabalenka will need her newly won self-confidence and the modified game on the sand to master this task and to win a Grand Slam tournament on another covering as a hard court.