French Open: Four-time champion Iga Swiatek to take on Aryna Sabalenka in semi-finals
Iga Swiatek to meet Aryna Sabalenka in blockbuster semi-final showdown at French Open; Follow scores & reports from Roland-Garros on Sky Sports' digital platforms; You can watch all the action from the tours on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, NOW and the Sky Sports app
Tuesday 3 June 2025 16:06, UK
Iga Swiatek stayed on course to win her fourth consecutive French Open title after reaching the semi-finals, where she will meet old adversary Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek earned her 26th victory in a row at Roland Garros after a 6-1 7-5 triumph against No 13 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
World No 1 Sabalenka is enjoying her 41st week at the top of the rankings and ousted reigning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in their quarter-final.
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Swiatek, who has spent 125 weeks at world No 1, will now face the current world No 1 in the final four on Thursday.
"I should have had better intensity in the beginning of the second set," Swiatek said in a post-match interview. "When I saw my intensity go low I got it high again. I am happy I did it at the end of the set.
"Against Aryna it is always a challenge. She has a game for every surface. I have to do the work, be brave with my shots and go for it. She is having a great season."
"I will not lie, it will be a tough match but I am happy for the challenge," she added.
Swiatek, playing in an initially sparsely filled Philipp-Chatrier stadium, broke the Ukrainian, in her fifth quarter-final appearance in Paris, early and kept her on the back foot with her heavy top-spin forehand and rapid changes in pace and direction.
Svitolina desperately tried to hang on but she could not match her opponent's power in rallies, sending a forehand into the net to hand her another break as Swiatek bagged the set on her serve in the next game.
With her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, watching from the stands, Svitolina ignited hope among the crowd when she moved 5-4 up in the second set.
Three unforced forehand errors in the next game, however, proved too many and Swiatek raced through the next three games to seal victory, firing three aces in the final game including one on match point.
Wilander: Is Swiatek playing great? Not yet!
Three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander, speaking on TNT Sports, said: "The last two matches she's played better. She's a little bit further behind the baseline than she's been in the last few months or the last year. She hasn't made a final in 12 months, which is unbelievable.
"She's playing better. Is she playing great? Not yet! But she hasn't had to play great yet. She's going to have to play great against Sabalenka but her confidence is skyrocketing with these wins.
"I like that she's playing with shape on the ball. I don't like it when she plays uber-aggressive. I like it when she spins it and she works the angles and she's great in the wind. I think it's perfect for her.
"There will be doubters if she goes out in a pretty simple way against Sabalenka."
Sabalenka makes last four for second time in three years
Sabalenka, looking to add a Roland Garros to her two Australian and one US Open crowns, won a hard-fought, near two-hour contest.
Zheng, the eighth seed from China, was the last woman to win a title here having claimed Olympic gold in August.
She went a break up in the first set and gave Sabalenka her biggest test of the tournament so far, but was unable to prevent her from making the last four for the second time in three years.
The 27-year-old said: "That was a true battle. Honestly I have no idea how I was able to break her back and get back in the first set.
"I was just trying to fight and I was just trying to put as many balls as I could back in. I didn't start well but I'm really glad I found my rhythm and won this match. It was a tough one."
Zheng had defeated Sabalenka in Rome last month, but that probably did the Belarusian a favour.
"I have to say that in the last tournament I was pretty exhausted," she added.
"Honestly, I was actually glad that I lost that match because I needed a little break before Roland Garros.
"I was just more fresh today and I was ready to battle, to fight and to leave everything that I have on court to get this win."
The scheduling of women's matches has been a hot topic again this fortnight, and Sabalenka said: "I agree it was a big match and probably would make more sense to put us a little bit later just so more people could watch it."
Swiatek and Sabalenka set for Paris showdown
Swiatek, who accepted a one-month doping ban late last year, is looking to become the first woman in the professional era since 1968 to win four consecutive titles in Paris.
She leads the overall head-to-head 8-4 against Sabalenka, and the clay-court head-to-head 5-1.
Sabalenka, though, beat Swiatek 6-3 6-3 in their most recent meeting, on the hard courts of Cincinnati last year.
This will be their first-ever meeting at Roland Garros.
The second semi-final will be decided on Wednesday with Coco Gauff taking on fellow American Madison Keys and Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva facing the French Open surprise package, world No 361 Lois Boisson.
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