Sabalenka trumps Svitolina to reach her maiden Roland Garros semi-final
What's the story
Aryna Sabalenka looked in complete control as she defeated Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4 to progress to her maiden Roland Garros semi-finals. The Belarusian, who won her maiden Grand Slam at the 2023 Australian Open, has looked in sublime form even on clay. Notably, this will be her first semi-final in Paris. She has reached the third round here thrice. Here are the stats.
Match stats
Here are the match stats
Sabalenka slammed 30 winners on the day compared to Svitolina's only seven winners. She won 71% net points and secured 3/9 break points. Svitolina fired in three aces, while Sabalenka could only manage one. The latter had the fastest serve of the match (192 KPH) as she also won 43% of the receiving points. Sabalenka won 71% net points but committed 37 unforced errors.
Information
A perfect record at Grand Slams in 2023
Sabalenka's superb form has been reflected in her gameplay as she has now won 34 matches in 2023 excluding the Billie Jean King Cup. She has won the most number of matches this year. She owns a perfect 12/12 record in the 2023 Grand Slams.
Record
Sabalenka scripts this record
Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion, has become the first player in this century to win the first 12 Gram Slam matches of the year. The other four players to achieve this feat are J Capriati (2001 and 2002), Serena Williams (2002, 2003, and 2015), Justin Henin (2007), and Victoria Azarenka (2013). Overall, Sabalenka has won 34 matches this year.
Opponent
Sabalenka to face Muchova in the semi-final
Sabalenka will now face Czech Republic star Karolina Muchova in her maiden Roland Garros semi-final. In fact, it is the maiden semi-final for both players. Muchova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 in her quarter-final clash to reach her second Grand Slam semi-final. The Belarusian has a slight edge over Muchova with a 1-0 head-to-head record at Grand Slams.