Aryna Sabalenka ended Iga Swiatek's bid for a fourth straight French Open title as the world number one powered her way to a maiden Roland Garros final on Thursday.
Sabalenka edged a topsy-turvy first set that featured eight breaks of serve in a tiebreak, before Swiatek hit back to level the match.
The finale turned out to be a complete anti-climax as Swiatek made 12 unforced errors in the third set and won only six points.
She will now face Coco Gauff in Saturday's title match after the American wrapped up a straight sets victory, 6-1, 6-2, over surprise package and home favourite Lois Boisson of France.
“It feels incredible but also I understand that the job is not done yet. I'm just thrilled with the performance today,” said the 27-year-old Sabalenka.
“What can I say, 6-0 [in the third set] – it couldn't be much more perfect than that!”
Sabalenka is targeting a fourth Grand Slam title and first not on hard courts, after winning last year's US Open and the Australian Open back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.
Swiatek has still not reached a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen 12 months ago.
She showed signs of a revival on the Paris clay where she has dominated since lifting the title as a teenager in 2020, but her game deserted her in the deciding set as she slipped to only the third French Open defeat of her career.
Sabalenka has now won their last two meetings, and five of 13 in total.
This was the first time the pair, the dominant players in women's tennis of the past few years, have gone head-to-head at a Grand Slam tournament since Swiatek's win in the 2022 US Open semi-finals en route to the title.
Sabalenka roared out of the blocks as Swiatek double-faulted to give up a break in the very first game.
The top seed quickly built a 3-0 lead with a double-break, as Swiatek mustered only four points in the opening exchanges.
But Sabalenka's hold in game two proved to be the only one until Swiatek cut the gap to 4-3 to stay within touching distance, before making it four successive games to edge in front.
Sabalenka did manage to create a chance to serve out the set, but unsurprisingly, Swiatek broke again to force a tiebreak as the Belarusian lashed a groundstroke long.
The three-time Grand Slam champion finally got the first set on the board, though, blasting through the tiebreak as Swiatek eventually cracked.
The breaks of serve kept coming in the second set, until Swiatek managed to hold for a 3-1 advantage.
The pair belatedly stabilised behind their serves, albeit too late for Sabalenka in the second set as Swiatek held to love to force a decider.
The four-time champion had never lost a three-set match at the French Open, but found herself sliding towards defeat as she slipped 2-0 behind in the third.
Swiatek, who has built a reputation for dishing out bagels, then wilted under the pressure in a disappointing final set that lasted just 22 minutes.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
