No. 1 Iga Swiatek sets up clash against Karolina Muchova in French Open final - Lejit Reporters
No. 1 Iga Swiatek sets up clash against Karolina Muchova in French Open final - Lejit Reporters
Reigning champion and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek swept into the French Open final on Thursday after unheralded Karolina Muchova saved a match point before stunning No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek defeated Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) and will face the 43rd-ranked Muchova on Saturday as she targets her third French Open title in four years.
The 22-year-old Pole, who improved her record in Paris to 27-2, is bidding to become the first woman to successfully defend the title since Justine Henin in 2007.
She is also the youngest woman to reach three French Open finals since Monica Seles at the start of the 1990s.
"It's really amazing," Swiatek said. "Honestly, It's tough to play such a long tournament and I'm pretty happy I am able to play consistently and every year have a good result here, and I am pretty excited for Saturday."
Haddad Maia, the first Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since seven-time major winner Maria Bueno in 1968, broke Swiatek to love in the opening game, but the top seed soon took control.
Swiatek won five of the next six games before breaking Haddad Maia a third time to close out the set.
Haddad Maia clawed out of a 3-1 hole in the second set, but Swiatek pocketed the next three games.
Swiatek fended off three break points at 4-4 and saved a set point in the tiebreak before halting the run of the 27-year-old left-hander, who had never gotten past the second round of a Grand Slam.
"It wasn't easy, she's a fighter and she showed that," Swiatek said.
"I knew I had to be ready for every game and that the momentum could change really quickly and that's why I played so well in the tiebreaker."
Muchova will play in her first Grand Slam final after overturning a 5-2 deficit in the final set to knock out Australian Open champion Sabalenka and snap the Belarusian's 12-match winning run at Grand Slam events.
"I don't really know what happened," Muchova said after her 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 victory. "It's unbelievable, I tried to keep fighting and it worked. I'm so happy."
She added Sabalenka to an impressive list of victims in Paris that includes No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari in the first round and 2021 runnerup Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals.
"I had a lot of opportunities, and I didn't use it," Sabalenka said. "I'm very disappointed with this tough loss.
"I definitely have to learn something from this match and come back stronger."
Only three women ranked lower than Muchova — plagued by injuries for much of her career — have reached the final in Paris, including Swiatek, who was a 54th-ranked teenager when she claimed her maiden Grand Slam title in 2020.
Muchova saved two break points in the fourth game of the opener and then broke Sabalenka at 4-4 to leave herself serving for the set.
Sabalenka fought off a set point as she broke back and then moved ahead 5-4 in the tiebreak. Muchova stood firm and the Czech seized her second chance by ripping a superb backhand down the line.
Muchova broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set only for Sabalenka to reply right away. The second seed nudged in front with a break for 4-3, but this time Muchova was quick to level.
Sabalenka took charge in another tiebreak and conjured two set points, double faulting on the first but converting the second with a powerful overhead.
Suddenly the momentum was with Sabalenka, who broke for 4-2 in the decider after seeing four break points come and go in the second game.
Muchova appeared doomed to wilt under the barrage.
However, she saved a match point in the eighth game before incredibly racing away with the last five games to claim a thrilling win after 3 hours, 13 minutes.
"It was a hell of a fight, and I put everything out there. It paid off," Muchova said.
