Defending champion Iga Swiatek will face World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a blockbuster French Open semi-final and their first meeting at a grand slam in almost three years.
Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman in the Open era to win four titles in a row at Roland Garros and extended her winning streak at the to 26 matches by overcoming Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.
Sabalenka is aiming to win her first French Open title and is yet to drop a set. The World No 1, who won the titles at the US Open and Australian Open, defeated Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in the quarters.
Swiatek and Sabalenka last played at a grand slam in the US Open semi-finals, with Swiatek winning in three sets on her way to lifting the title in New York. The Pole leads their overall head-to-head 8-4.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is Iga Swiatek vs Aryna Sabalenka?
The semi-final will be played on Thursday 5 June and from 2pm BST (UK time).
French Open order of play - Thursday 5 June
Court Philippe-Chatrier
From 2pm BST
[1] Aryna Sabalenka vs Iga Swiatek [5]
Followed by
[2] Coco Gauff vs Lois Boisson
What happened in the quarter-finals?
Swiatek battled from a break down in the second to defeat to defeat Elina Svitolina 6-1 7-5 and extend her French Open winning streak to 26 matches.
She was immediately asked about playing Sabalenka in her on-court interview and said: “It’s always a challenge playing Aryna. She has a game for every surface. I need to focus on myself, do the work, be brave with my shots and go for it. I’ll prepare tactically tomorrow but she’s been having a great season. It’s going to be tough match but I’m happy for the challenge.”
Sabalenka improved her winning record against Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng to 7-1, shrugging off a defeat to the Chinese star in the Rome quarter-finals to win 7-6 6-3.
She has asked about playing Swiatek afterwards and said: “We've had a lot of great battles in the past. I'm super excited. It's high-level matches. I'm super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win. I love tough challenges. I think this is the matches where you actually improve as a player and where you get much stronger. And I always excited to face someone strong and then someone who can challenge me.”
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