Aryna Sabalenka was on the cusp of setting up a dream French Open women’s final against World No.1 Iga Swiatek until things went horribly wrong for the Belarusian in her shock semi-final defeat to Karolina Muchova. The World No.2 squandered a match point while serving for a spot in the Roland Garros final at 5-2, before losing the next five games straight to crash out in shocking scenes.
The unseeded Muchova defied all odds to book her spot in the Roland Garros decider, where she will face two-time champion Swiatek, who beat Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2 7-6 (9-7) in the other semi-final. While it was a stirring comeback from the Czech underdog Muchova, the match was another sorry example of the mental demons that have plagued Sabalenka throughout her career.
Sabalenka dumped the sports psychologist who had helped her address several shortcomings in her game, particularly the yips on her second serve that had led to a litany of double faults. Unfortunately for the World No.2 those same issues resurfaced against Muchova as the Belarusian suffered an almighty choke.
The Australian Open champion snatched the key break in the third set to move 4-2 clear but her serve deserted her as the match reached its conclusion after more than three hours. Having coughed up a number of double faults in the opening two sets, the problem reared its ugly head again in the 11th game of the decider, with Sabalanka committing two double faults in a row.
