In place for the last square. This Thursday afternoon, the Central Court of Roland-Garros hosts the semifinals of the women's draw. On one side, Iga Swiatek (No. 1) against Beatriz Haddad Maia (No. 14), on the other Aryna Sabalenka (No. 2) against Karolina Muchová (No. 43). Four contenders for a single crown... and a big favorite whose initials are I.G.
Can Haddad Maia raise Swiatek's eyebrows?
Already a winner in 2020 and 2022, Iga Swiatek seems well on her way to achieving the pass of three. The Pole literally flew through her first four matches before dominating American Coco Gauff (6-4, 6-2 in 1h28) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals in a remake of the 2022 final.
Believe it, Bia!
History made 😍🇧🇷 #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/8Cbq2aXflO
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2023
Swiatek surely thought he would find Ons Jabeur. But the Tunisian (No. 7) totally lost the thread of her match against Beatriz Haddad Maia (3-6, 7-6, 6-1), who will be the first Brazilian at this stage of the competition in the Open era.
The South American, who had never done better than a 2nd round in eleven Grand Slams has already spent nearly 13 hours on court against 5:32 for the world No. 1... This could weigh heavily in the legs in addition to the tension related to the event.
But it was she who won their only confrontation, on hard, in Toronto last summer (6-4, 3-6, 7-5)! "I'm just going to try to have fun and fight every point and give everything on the pitch," she said. I have nothing to lose. I'll try to go as much as I can... »
The surprise Muchová to attack Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka had never done better than a 3rd round in Paris. But in recent months, the Belarusian has entered another dimension with a first Grand Slam title at the last Australian Open. The WTA No. 2 didn't really suffer to make it to the semifinals and still hasn't conceded a set.
The faller of Elina Svitolina has mainly been talked about for having dried two press conferences in the name of her mental health, embarrassed by issues related to the invasion of Ukraine (her country supports Russia).
📊 Karolina Muchova's last two semi-final qualifiers:
🇦🇺 Australian Open 2021
🇫🇷 Roland Garros 2023
➡️ Between these two tournaments, the Czech played 28 tournaments without ever managing to reach the quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/CxtGHBwd6j
— Game, Set and Math (@JeuSetMaths) June 6, 2023
In front of her, Karolína Muchová is the surprise guest of the end of the fortnight. The 26-year-old Czech, with a half at the Australian Open (2021) and two quarters at Wimbledon (2019 and 2021) in her career, had never done more than three rounds at the Porte d'Auteuil. After taking out the Greek Maria Sakkari (No. 8) as soon as she entered the competition, the native of Olomouc did not let go.
"Looking back, it helped me to do this performance from the beginning," she says. Aryna is a great player, very aggressive. I will try to make things complicated for her to overflow her. I'm really happy to be here, but I'm not jaded. I'm making sure it continues... »