Defending champion eliminated: Sakkari defeats Swiatek in straight sets
There will be no back-to-back champion in the women’s draw this year at Roland Garros, as Maria Sakkari defeats Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 35 minutes.
Swiatek was coming into the meeting with Sakkari on an 11-match winning streak at the French Open, which included winning all seven matches last year on route to the title, and winning in the first four rounds this year.
For Sakkari, this was her first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance in her career, and with the win on Wednesday, she will have another first as she advances to her first career Major semi-final.
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There was not a whole lot that separated the two in the first set, as both were able to generate their fair share of break point opportunities. The difference was that Sakkari was a lot better on those key points, as she broke Swiatek twice on five chances, while Swiatek broke once on six chances. Unforced errors also hurt Swiatek in the set, as she had 15 unforced errors to go along with just seven winners, according to Infosys Match Centre.
With Sakkari serving for the first set at 5-4, Swiatek did get a look at a break point, as Sakkari hit an unforced error on a key deuce point. Unfortunately for Swiatek, she was unable to convert, as Sakkari would go on to win the next three points to take the set 6-4.
In the second, Sakkari jumped out to an early lead, breaking serve in the first game before holding her own to go up 2-0. Swiatek would then take a medical timeout after the game, leaving the court to get treatment for what appeared to be a right thigh injury. Swiatek was able to hold her serve the rest of the set, but Sakkari did an amazing job of not giving her a single break point opportunity the rest of the match. Sakkari would eventually close it out on her serve to take the set 6-4, defeating the defending champion and booking her spot in the semi-finals of the French Open.
Next up for Maria Sakkari will be unseeded Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated American Coco Gauff earlier on Wednesday in straight sets.