Sabalenka defeats Zheng for seventh time to reach Roland Garros semifinals

No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka resumed normal service against No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, coming from 4-2 down in the first set to reach her seventh semifinal of the season 7-6(3), 6-3.

Sabalenka advances to her 11th major semifinal overall -- the most of any player since Maria Sharapova hit that mark at Roland Garros 2011 -- and her second in Paris following her run in 2023, which ended in a three-set loss to Karolina Muchova. She will bid to reach her sixth Grand Slam final, and first at Roland Garros, against either No. 5 seed Iga Swiatek or No. 13 seed Elina Svitolina.

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Until last month, Sabalenka had a stranglehold on her rivalry with Zheng, winning their first six encounters for the loss of just one set, in last year's Wuhan final. But in their first clay-court meeting in the Rome quarterfinals, Zheng got on the board in emphatic style, notching her first win in the series 6-4, 6-3.

Had Zheng cracked the code? Was clay the key for her to turn the head-to-head around? Sabalenka had shrugged off the Rome loss after defeating Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round.

"I have to say I was pretty exhausted in Rome," she said. "Honestly, I was playing the tournament constantly thinking I shouldn't be playing and I needed a little rest before Roland Garros."

In her on-court interview, Sabalenka confirmed that she was back at full strength in Paris.

"I was actually glad I lost that match, because I needed a little break before Roland Garros," she told Marion Bartoli. "Today I was just more fresh. I was ready to battle, I was ready to fight, I was ready to leave everything I had on court to get this win."

Indeed, the World No. 1 delivered a sharper performance to get back to winning ways against Zheng -- the first Top 10 win of her career at Roland Garros (compared to six at the Australian and US Opens combined). The Chinese player had the upper hand early on, but squandered her opportunities to press home her advantage.

More to come...

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