2023-06-06 13:40:14
For a place in the final, Sabalenka will face the Czech Karolina Muchova (43rd) on Thursday, victorious 7-5, 6-2 from the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earlier in the day.
In another match with a political dimension, Svitolina did not shake Sabalenka’s hand following the game, and some boos came from the stands. The two players also did not share a pre-game photo at the net.
Unlike her two previous matches following which Sabalenka had not given a press conference, a normally compulsory exercise, with the agreement of the Parisian tournament, the 25-year-old Belarusian showed up following qualifying for the last four, as indicated by the organization.
After her third-round match, Sabalenka cited her “own sanity” and “well-being,” and admitted to having “felt unsafe during her previous press conference. In a tense exchange, a Ukrainian journalist had summoned Sabalenka to explain her links with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. In the previous round, she had to comment on the refusal of her first opponent, another Ukrainian , Marta Kostyuk, to shake his hand.
On the Philippe-Châtrier court on Tuesday followingnoon, Sabalenka placed her hands on the net, but Svitolina went straight back to her chair, without coming to shake her hand, unsurprisingly.
Between the two players, the game was balanced up to 4 games everywhere in the first set. Then Sabalenka took over by converting the very first break point of the match and pocketing the first set in stride.
Svitolina led well 2 games to 0 in the second set, but the world No.2 immediately came back up to par and even lined up four games to definitely widen the gap and win in just over an hour and a half. .
At 28, the Ukrainian, former world No.3 who played with a protected ranking at Roland-Garros, was playing her first Grand Slam tournament since she gave birth to her first child last October, a little girl born of her union with Gaël Monfils, named Skaï.
“She’s such a difficult opponent (to face), who moves well. What she does following giving birth is impressive, respect to her. I’m super happy with my victory, the atmosphere was incredible” , said Sabalenka.
Qualified for the last four, Sabalenka forces the world N.1 and outgoing champion Iga Swiatek to climb to the Porte d’Auteuil final to have a chance of remaining on the throne at the end of the Paris fortnight.
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