(Tennis news) Unseeded Karolina Muchova defeated Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5 on Thursday to advance to the French Open final and put an end to the Belarusian aspirations of becoming the world’s top player. Aryna Sabalenka, the winner of the Australian Open, would have risen to the top of the rankings if she had won the match in Paris, but she was defeated by the talented Czech, who skillfully thwarted her opponent’s power play and won the final five games in a row.

Even though Muchova was the final unseeded player in both the men’s and women’s draw, she made no attempt to match Sabalenka’s incredible power from the baseline. The Czech, who recovered from a 2021 injury and dropped to the mid-200s to reach the top 50, chose a more lighthearted approach. By using Sabalenka’s backhand and drop strokes, she forced the tall Belarusian into the net by slicing the ball to slow down the pace. 

The strongest hitter in women’s tennis, Aryna Sabalenka, was visibly upset and unable to deploy her ferocious forehand at will. As Muchova surged up 5-4, she was broken, but the Czech lost a set point on her serve and was broken right back before winning the set at the second opportunity in the tiebreak.

The Belarusian, Aryna Sabalenka, who had raised controversy in the tournament by her initial refusal to speak on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and her country’s role as a staging area for Russian troops, was broken at the start of the second. In the second set, each player had two breaks, but Sabalenka eventually had two set points in the tiebreak. With a double fault, she blew the first opportunity, but she didn’t hesitate when the following level was at stake.

Aryna Sabalenka blew four breakpoints at 1-0, but she nabbed the crucial break in the third to go 4-2 up. Karolina Muchova began her own comeback after saving a match point at 5-2 down in order to advance to her maiden Grand Slam final. She won five straight games.

Karolina Muchova will play world no.1 Iga Swiatek in the finals of the French Open. Iga Swiatek defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia in the other semi finals.

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