The Japan Times - Sabalenka expecting another 'great battle' with Swiatek at French Open

Top seed Sabalenka dispatched Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in the quarter-finals in Paris and next plays three-time defending champion Swiatek for a place in the final.

Swiatek, the fifth seed, got past 13th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 to set up the mouthwatering match-up.

The semi-final will be one between two players who know each other well, the pair having faced each other across the net 12 times with Swiatek leading the series 8-4.

On clay, the Polish player has won five of their six meetings -- most recently in the 2024 finals in Rome and Madrid.

Sabalenka's only win on clay was in the final in Madrid in 2023, when she edged Swiatek in three sets. And the Belarusian won their most recent clash -- a straight sets win on hard court in Cincinnati last October.

The 27-year-old says she enjoys the rivalry with 24-year-old Swiatek, and the pair who have shared the world number one ranking between them for over three years have become closer of late.

"Yeah, I mean, before it wasn't any communication, any practices with her, but now we are getting better," said Sabalenka.

"We get along better, and we practice more often, and we know each other quite well. We've had a lot of great battles in the past.

"If it's going to be Iga, I'm super excited, and it's high-level matches. Yeah, I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win."

- 'Great rhythm' -

Meanwhile Swiatek revealed she has been practising with Sabalenka in the past two weeks since Rome.

"It's great always to practice with Aryna. She gives a great rhythm, and the practice will have quality, you know, so it was great," she said.

"I feel like we both know how we play, so it's not like you're going to find something extraordinary there."

On Tuesday, Sabalenka fought back after struggling in the first set against Zheng, who had beaten her in the last eight on clay in Rome last month.

Zheng broke and led 4-2 in the first set. But numerous unforced errors -- 31 in total -- allowed the Belarusian to come back.

The second set was also tight before Sabalenka broke back to lead 4-3, taking advantage of her opponent's errors.

Sabalenka converted her first match point on a poorly-controlled drop-shot from Zheng to advance to her 11th major semi-final overall, and her second in Paris following her run in 2023.

A three-time Grand Slam winner -- at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and the reigning US Open champion -- Sabalenka is chasing her sixth Grand Slam final berth.

Zheng -- on a 10-match winning run since her Olympic gold in Paris -- blamed nervousness for her errors in her first Paris quarter-finals.

"In the first set I made a lot of, you know, easy mistakes. I give her the chance so easy," she said.

"I (was) really tight because I have so much hunger in (the) French Open, and then I think this can make my performance not (the) best.

"Today I don't even perform at 60, 70 percent."

Y.Kimura--JT