Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic advanced to the French Open women’s final by defeating second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in a thrilling match.
Muchova, who was ranked 43rd in the world, defeated Sabalenka 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 by saving a match point at 5-2, becoming the lowest-ranked woman player to ever reach the French Open final.
Muchova advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2021 before suffering an injury. But it was at Roland Garros that she proved her undeniable value in the game.
Sabalenka’s errors allowed Muchova to re-establish parity, causing Sabalenka to become more nervous when she served for a 6-5 lead.
From a commanding 40-15 lead, the Belarussian committed back-to-back double faults, hit a heavy backhand long, and then committed another error, handing the momentum to Muchova.
Muchova, with the crowd now behind her, kept her cool and served out to love before accepting the warm applause of the Chatrier audience.
She challenged Sabalenka with her usual range of play throughout the match, and she also demonstrated tenacity by persevering when it appeared she might lose.
She saved four break points against Sabalenka in the crucial game to tie the match at one, but she then lost her serve and fell behind 4-2.
Sabalenka led 5-2, knowing that two serves would be enough to advance, but she was unable to win after Muchova saved a match point.
Sabalenka tensed up before serving the final point of the set, revealing an old weakness just as she was aiming to reach back-to-back Grand Slam finals.
Muchova, 26, will face either top-seeded Polish player Iga Swiatek or Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the French Open women’s final on Saturday.
Swiatek will face Haddad Maia in the second semifinal on Thursday.
Swiatek, 22, will remain the world’s top female tennis player if she defeats Haddad Maia and advances to the final, a position she has held for 62 weeks.
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