French Open women’s semi-finals: How they got here

James Richardson 08 Jun 2023 9:06 AM

Aryna Sabalenka screaming

The French Open singles semi-final lineups have been settled with the top two seeds battling less fancied opponents.

On Thursday, Aryna Sabalenka’s 12-match Grand Slam winning streak will be on the line in the Roland Garros semifinals while two-time winner Iga Swiatek tries to advance to her third French Open final in the past four years.

Swiatek goes into a clash against 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia who owns a win over the world No 1.

“I’m pretty happy to be in the semi-final again at Roland Garros. It’s a great achievement no matter how the tournament is going to finish,” said Swiatek, who has yet to drop a set, after booking her place in the last four.

Their previous meeting came on a hard court while clay is Swiatek’s domain.

“Obviously surface is different, so we’ll see. I’ve never played against her on clay. Again, as before any other match, I will kind of focus on myself and what I want to do on court,” said Swiatek after gaining the French Open last four.

Haddad Maia had never gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam before this French Open. She now stands on the brink of a maiden major final but Swiatek will prove some obstacle.

“It’s a very tough one,” said Haddad Maia of facing Swiatek for a spot in Saturday’s final.

“I’ll leave everything on the court. I have nothing to lose. I will try to go for it.”

Meanwhile Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic awaits Sabalenka in the last four.

“I’m really glad for this run, and that I got my ranking a little bit better than it was,” said the 43rd-ranked Muchova.

“I just take it step by step, and I’m really glad where I am now. I’ll try to push my limits for sure. And who knows where the limits are.”