Aryna Sabalenka said winning a first French Open title would "mean everything" after she knocked out three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals on Thursday.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka battled past four-times champion Iga Swiatek to reach her first French Open final on Thursday with a 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 victory that ended the Pole's reign in Paris and snapped her 26-game winning streak in the tournament.
Sabalenka suffered her first loss to Zheng in seven career meetings in the Rome quarter-finals last month and she went behind early in the opening set at a half-full Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 27-year-old from Belarus has never reached the final in Paris, but the tournament appears more open than in recent years given the struggles of three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.
Carlos Alcaraz set up a semifinal meeting with Lorenzo Musetti at the Italian Open on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jack Draper in the last eight, while women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out.
Sabalenka recorded her tour-leading 31st victory this season on the Madrid clay, adding the WTA 1000 trophy to titles in Brisbane and Miami.
Aryna Sabalenka kept a historic Australian Open hat-trick on track Tuesday as she battled past Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Double-defending champion Sabalenka blew away Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2 in a ruthless display on the hottest day of the Melbourne tournament so far.
The world number one remained on track to win her third consecutive Melbourne Park title but only after a rollercoaster scrap that lasted more than two hours on Rod Laver Arena.
Aryna Sabalenka said winning a first French Open title would "mean everything" after she knocked out three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals on Thursday.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka battled past four-times champion Iga Swiatek to reach her first French Open final on Thursday with a 7-6(1) 4-6 6-0 victory that ended the Pole's reign in Paris and snapped her 26-game winning streak in the tournament.
Sabalenka suffered her first loss to Zheng in seven career meetings in the Rome quarter-finals last month and she went behind early in the opening set at a half-full Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 27-year-old from Belarus has never reached the final in Paris, but the tournament appears more open than in recent years given the struggles of three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.
Carlos Alcaraz set up a semifinal meeting with Lorenzo Musetti at the Italian Open on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Jack Draper in the last eight, while women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out.
Sabalenka recorded her tour-leading 31st victory this season on the Madrid clay, adding the WTA 1000 trophy to titles in Brisbane and Miami.
Aryna Sabalenka kept a historic Australian Open hat-trick on track Tuesday as she battled past Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Double-defending champion Sabalenka blew away Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-2 in a ruthless display on the hottest day of the Melbourne tournament so far.
The world number one remained on track to win her third consecutive Melbourne Park title but only after a rollercoaster scrap that lasted more than two hours on Rod Laver Arena.
Thunder and lightning saw players and fans rushing for cover, with the heavy rain a headache for organisers who face a match backlog.
