The defending champion had reached the quarter-finals without dropping a set; she received a medical timeout and treatment at 6-4 2-0 down and could not produce the comeback required; Maria Sakkari will now face Barbora Krejcikova in the semi-finals
Wednesday 9 June 2021 15:13, UK
Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, is out of the French Open after a straight-sets 6-4 6-4 loss to the 17th seed Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals.
The 20-year-old, who won the title last year without dropping a set, found herself challenged by the power of Sakkari from the outset. Although the Greek player needed to overcome some early nerves.
After losing the first set, Swiatek had to leave court at 6-4 2-0 down to receive treatment on her right thigh.
Upon her return, the defending champion showed great resilience not to let the injury hamper her greatly, and she continued to hold serve. However, Swiatek was not able to make any inroads into the Sakkari serve.
Instead, Sakkari, appearing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, stayed cool and at 5-4 held serve to complete a memorable victory at the first time of asking.
Sakkari will now face Barbora Krejcikova in the semi-finals, after Krejcikova overcame Coco Gauff in the earlier quarter-final on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Sakkari's progression to the semi-finals means that for just the fifth time in French Open history, a player seeded outside of the top 10 will lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen on Saturday. It is also the first time in the Open Era at Roland Garros that there are four first-time semi-finalists.
As the 17th seed and being the world No 18, Sakkari is now the highest-ranked player left in the running.
Krejcikova, her semi-final opponent is unseeded, as is Tamara Zidansek, who will take on the 31st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the other semi-final.
Sakkari, who said she was going to "enjoy the moment and play her tennis" in her first slam quarter-final, found herself 2-0 down early on.
After banishing the nerves that were clearly bubbling away, she started to punish Swiatek's uncharacteristic errors. Her powerful groundstrokes, in particular her forehand, allowed her to dictate play.
Swiatek, who has endured lengthy doubles matches as well this week, did not look quite as sharp as normal.
A key break of the Swiatek serve arrived at 4-4, before Sakkari then calmly served out the first set.
Having pressed 2-0 ahead at the start of the second, the 17th seed was forced to stop and think, after Swaitek called for a medical timeout and received treatment off court.
The defending champion returned with strapping on the top of her right thigh and as the match continued, she held serve well. However, with Sakkari firmly in the groove and her nerves gone too, the Greek athlete professionally finished the job in one hour and 35 minutes.
"It's a very nice feeling and I couldn't have done it without my team and their support," Sakkari said on court after.
"I just want to thank them. We still have a long way to go, of course, but we made a huge step today."
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