World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ended Iga Swiatek‘s 26-0 winning streak at Roland Garros, emphatically bageling the defending champion in the third set of their semifinal for a 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 victory.
Swiatek made an erratic and very weak start to the match, serving a double fault to hand Sabalenka a break in the opening game. The Belarusian then quickly surged to a double-break 3-0 lead within just 10 minutes, looking dominant and confident.
Swiatek showed signs of resistance in the fourth game, breaking Sabalenka to cut the deficit to 1-3. However, Sabalenka immediately struck back with another break to reassert her control at 4-1.
A pivotal moment came at 4-1 40-30, when a serve initially called an ace by Sabalenka was overturned by the chair umpire, who ruled it a let. The controversial decision appeared to rattle Sabalenka’s focus, while Swiatek seized the momentum and reeled off four straight games.
Sabalenka briefly halted Swiatek’s surge with a composed love hold for 5-5. She then managed to break Swiatek once more, only to be broken right back as Swiatek forced a tiebreak in what had become a fiercely contested set.
In the end, Sabalenka reset and dominated the tiebreak with a commanding 7-1 performance, clinching the opening set after 71 rollercoaster minutes.
The…
