Unseeded Muchova blooms

PARIS, June 8

Unseeded Karolina Muchova saved a match point before battling past second seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 7-5 today to reach the French Open final in thrilling fashion and end the Belarusian’s dream of becoming world No. 1.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka, the overwhelming favourite to win the last-four showdown, would have taken over the top spot in the rankings by winning the title in Paris.

But she failed to convert her chance at 5-2 in the third set and bowed out to the gifted Czech, who cleverly defused her opponent’s power game and took the last five games in a row.

The last unseeded player left in the men’s and women’s draw, Muchova did not attempt to match Sabalenka’s massive hitting power from the baseline.

Instead the Czech, who battled back from the mid-200s into the top 50 after an injury in 2021, opted for a lighter touch.

She sliced the ball to take the pace off, playing Sabalenka’s backhand and hitting drop shots to force the tall Belarusian into the net. “I don’t really know what happened,” a beaming Muchova said. “The atmosphere, the people pushing me in all the match. I just keep fighting and it worked. I really don’t know what happened. I am so happy.” — Reuters

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