PARIS – Top-ranked Alina Sabalenka defeated Zheng Qinwen in straight sets on Tuesday to reach the second French Open semi-final.
Chasing her first title at Roland Garos, Sabalenka overcomes volatile start and windy conditions to win 7-6 (3), 6-3, expanding her record against the Olympic champions to 7-1.
However, the scores did not fully reflect the closeness of the quarterfinals, but rarely separated rivals. However, Sabalenka showed why she was number one in the world, making a big difference to the point, and Zheng struggled with her serve in a tense moment.
Sabalenka is about to reach the sixth Grand Slam final against defending champions Iga Switek or Erina Svitolina.
Sabalenka lost his recent match with Zheng in Rome last month, previously dominated his first six encounters. She said losses were good in the middle of an already exhausted season.
“We needed a little break before Roland Garos, so we were happy to actually lose that match,” Sabalenka said. “Today I was even more fresh, I was ready to fight.
Three-time major champion Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a set in Paris yet.
Zheng became stronger with Court Philippe-Chatrier, broke early and dominated with aggressive plays.
However, two double faults in the eighth game allowed Sabalenka to regain momentum and shift.
A misunderstood call from Zheng in the 12th game cost her almost, but she fought the setpoint to force a tiebreaker. Sabalenka was more consistent and secured the set after Zheng hit a long time with a drop shot.
Zheng saved a breakpoint with an overhead shot in the fifth game of the second set, but Sabalenka’s powerful backhand return pinned her to the next set, allowing the top-ranked player to advance 3-2. However, Zheng did not fall without a fight and quickly went back just to drop the last two service games.
The loss concluded Zheng’s 10th consecutive match victory at Roland Garos heading into the Olympics last summer.
