PARIS: Iga Swiatek puts her bid for a fourth straight French Open title on the line against world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday, before surprise French hero Lois Boisson aims to continue her fairytale run against Coco Gauff in the second semifinal.
The biggest rivalry in the current women’s game will get its first instalment since last August in Cincinnati when the reigning Roland Garros champion goes up against the top seed.
It will be only their second ever meeting at a Grand Slam tournament and their first since a three-set win for Swiatek in the 2022 US Open semifinals en route to the title.
Swiatek holds an 8-4 winning record against Sabalenka, but came into the tournament under a cloud after a disappointing clay-court season and without even a final appearance since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen 12 months ago.
But the Pole is on a remarkable 26-match winning streak in the French Open and could become the first woman to win four straight titles at Roland Garros since Suzanne Lenglen 102 years ago.
“I don’t know if she elevates my game,” she said of Sabalenka.
“But for sure our rivalry is pushing both of us, I think, but it’s not only about the level of tennis. It’s about like everything, how we work, and how professional we are.”
The pair practiced together in the build-up to the tournament, and Sabalenka credits their improving relationship off-court to a dance video they did for TikTok at last year’s WTA Finals.
Sabalenka has only beaten Swiatek once on clay, in the 2023 Madrid Open final.
Their most memorable clash was the 2024 final in the Spanish capital when Swiatek saved three championship points and won in a deciding-set tie-break.
“We’ve had a lot of great battles in the past,” Sabalenka said after her quarter-final win over Zheng Qinwen.
“I’m super excited to go out there and to fight and to do everything I need to get the win.”
Sabalenka has powered through the draw so far without dropping a set.
Swiatek has also been in dominant form, with the exception a battling comeback victory over Elena Rybakina in the fourth round, a performance she said she “needed.”
World number 361 Boisson is still dreaming of an improbable title on her Grand Slam debut after a memorable quarter-final triumph over rising Russian star Mirra Andreeva.
The 22-year-old Boisson missed out on making her first Roland Garros appearance last year after suffering a knee injury shortly before the tournament, but has more than made up for lost time with a stunning run through the draw.
She had never played a top-50 opponent before this week, but has now beaten two in the top 10 in third-ranked Jessica Pegula and world number six Andreeva to set up her last-four clash with Gauff.
“I think every kid who plays tennis has the dream to win a Slam. More for French players to win Roland Garros, for sure,” said Boisson.
“So, yeah, it’s a dream. For sure I will go for the dream, because my dream is to win it, not to be in the semifinal.”
Andreeva was overwhelmed by the atmosphere on Court Philippe Chatrier as she lost the last six games of her quarter-final against Boisson.
But Gauff has a plan to try and block out the noise from the partisan home crowd.
“I think there are two ways I have done it in the past. Either, A: just pretend they’re cheering for you, and B: just using it and not letting that get to you,” she said after defeating Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the last eight.
The American is bidding to reach her second French Open final after a demoralizing defeat by Swiatek in the 2022 showpiece.
Gauff has since won the US Open, in 2023, and climbed to second in the world.
The 21-year-old will be hoping her added experience can help her finally clinch the title at a tournament in which she has reached at least the quarter-finals in five successive years.
