Aryna Sabalenka holds Svitolina in straight sets at French Open

Aryna Sabalenka celebrates a point won during her quartefinal with Elina Svitolina at the French Open.

Aryna Sabalenka used her big forehand to remain a leg up at the French Open Tuesday. The second seed delivered big shots at Elina Svitolina, who struggled to bring the fire needed to douse her opponent in a 6-4, 6-4 result on Philippe Chatrier Court at Roland Garros. The 20-game battle of the quarterfinal left the 25-year-old to dictate the late stages of each set and enter into the semifinal.

The two played twice before, with Svitolina carrying their lone match on clay. Both came into the fourth round in a clash of conflict outside the sport. The Ukrainian picked up plenty of support from the fans after dispatching Blinkova and Kasatkina. In a comeback that has increased her match streak to eight, the 28-year-old wanted to beat the reigning world number two.

Sabalenka hadn’t dropped a set in her first three matches, gaining her best position in a major she has little success. With a shot at being world number one by the end of the week, the 25-year-old knew she had support but also a heavy task against a large contingency. Both had experience on Chatrier, leaving their skills to prove worthy of the quarterfinal.

The two opened the scoring by holding serve against each other through two games. The first threat occurred in the fourth when Sabalenka forced deuce, only to see the Ukrainian hold for the AD point. They continued to hold serve through six games when Svitolina pushed for a chance to break.

The second seed also held for the first AD point, keeping them clear of breaks of serve. After eight straight service games, the world number two suffered errors but overcame the early problems to break Svitolina in the ninth. The 28-year-old put together a smooth service for the set, achieving two set points before the Ukrainian hit a pop fly that landed wide of the tramlines. It was a good set of tennis for the two, but the late change from the second seed gave her the lead after 38 minutes. Svitolina’s second serve had very little impact in the match, winning 33 percent. It was a notion that she relied too much on the primary weapon.  

She started the second stanza by forcing errors from Sabalenka, only to see her strike back with three winners. The Ukrainian laid down two aces in their fight on deuce, but a double fault reeled its head into the offense. The 28-year-old forced another error from the second seed before watching her opponent err in a game that took six and a half minutes. Svitolina achieved the break soon after Sabalenka committed a double fault in the second.

The 25-year-old wanted to get on the board, going for broke in the third on a barrage of winners from her end. It led her to deuce with Svitolina, who suffered two double faults. After three breaks and nearly seven minutes of play, Sabalenka captured the break back. She managed to hold back the Ukrainian on serve in the fourth, despite recording a pair of double faults.

The fifth stood out as highly contested when the second seed fired winners across to her opponent. Svitolina forced deuce on two errors from her opponent, but producing the AD point wasn’t in the cards. Sabalenka notched another winner to get back in place of a break and took the lead after nine minutes. The second seed picked up the pace and quickly took care of the service, allowing Svitolina a point in her quest for the lead. The 28-year-old drew errors out of Sabalenka, clinching the serve in the sixth, but a break was disallowed by the second seed. She rushed through the eighth to sit ahead two games and play against Svitolina.

The Ukrainian served to love in response, preparing to level the score and stay alive in the match. Sabalenka served for the match, giving the first point to Svitolina on an error. The second error was a wide crosscourt but recovered lost ground. The 28-year-old handed Sabalenka a match point, but the net court bounced the ball wide. She won the next point to avoid pressure from Svitolina and achieve victory in 1 hour and 36 minutes.