2023 French Open: Karolina Muchova ousts Aryna Sabalenka in semis
What's the story
An in-form Aryna Sabalenka failed to reach the 2023 French Open final after losing a three-set battle against Karolina Muchova.
With this win, Muchova has booked her maiden Grand Slam final.
In a tight first set, Muchova won 7-6 (7-5). She once again fought hard but Sabalenka prevailed 7-6 (7-5).
In the third set, Sabalenka was leading 5-2 before Muchova won five straight games.
Journey
Muchova's road to the final
Muchova started her 2023 French Open journey by defeating eighth seed Maria Sakkari in the first round (7-6, 7-5).
In the second round, she prevailed against Nadia Podoroska in a 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 contest.
She beat Irina-Camelia Begu next, winning 6-3, 6-2.
In the round of 16, she beat Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-3. In the quarters, she thwarted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2.
Information
33-16 win-loss record at Grand Slams
With this win, Muchova's tally at Roland Garros is 11-4. Overall at Grand Slams, she has a win-loss record of 33-16. Muchova's best performance at a Slam before today's result was a semi-final berth at the 2021 Australian Open.
Sabalenka
Sabalenka suffers a sixth defeat in 2023
Sabalenka now has a 34-6 win-loss record in 2023.
Sabalenka won the 2023 Madrid Open to claim her third WTA title in 2023. Notably, it was her fifth final in a WTA tournament this year.
She won Adelaide International 1 before claiming the 2023 Australian Open title. Sabalenka was also a runner-up at the Indian Wells and Stuttgart Open.
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Maiden defeat for Sabalenka at Grand Slams this year
Sabalenka has a 48-20 win-loss record at Grand Slams. At the French Open, her tally reads as 12-6. In the ongoing 2023 season, Sabalenka has a 12-1 record across two Slams.
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1-1 win-loss record for Muchova against Sabalenka
In terms of the head-to-head record, Muchova has raced to a 1-1 record versus Sabalenka. Notably, Sabalenka had beaten Muchova in the pair's first meeting at the Zhuhai Championships in 2021. Sabalenka had won 7-5, 7-6.
Run
Sabalenka's journey comes to an end
In the first round, Sabalenka beat Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2.
In the second round, the Belarusian overcame Iryna Shymanovich 7-5, 6-2.
Kamilla Rakhimova was Sabalenka's next victim, falling to a 2-6, 2-6 defeat.
In the round of 16, Sabalenka overcame Sloane Stephens 7-6, 6-4.
In the quarters, she got the job done versus Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4.
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Key numbers for Muchova
As per WTA, Muchova now owns a 5-0 record against the Top 3 players. As per Opta, Muchova is only the 3rd player ranked outside the WTA's top 40 to reach the final here after Jelena Ostapenko (2017) and Iga Swiatek (2020).