Sabalenka Beats Svitolina, Eases Into French Open Semi-Finals

The impressive run of world number two Aryna Sabalenka at this year's Roland Garros has earned her a semi-final berth after ending the resurgence of former World number three Elina Svitolina in Paris.

Sabalenka won 6-4 6-4 in Tuesday's quarterfinals to move past the third round in five prior appearances for the first time in her career.

The performance of the Belarusian was indeed remarkable as she won three straight games from 4-3 in the opener and won four in a row from 2-0 down in the second set, only needing two match points to wrap up the win.

"She's such a tough opponent, moving well, and what she's doing after giving birth is so impressive," Sabalenka said afterwards. 

"A big respect to her. It was a tough match and I'm super happy with the win.

"When I was a kid, I practiced a lot on the clay, more than on hard court. ... I feel very comfortable on the clay, and hopefully I can go as far as I can here at Roland Garros."

For a place in her second Grand Slam final of the year, she'll next face unseeded Karolina Muchova who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Tuesday's other quarterfinal.

Sabalenka and Muchova have only played once previously, with the former earning a 7-5 7-6(4) win in the semifinals of the WTA Elite Trophy in 2019. 

The Australian Open champion, who is yet to lose a set in five matches this year, is apparently the favourite to reach the final considering that she's a clay-court specialist with this year's Madrid Open title under her belt.