Gabriela Sabatini he stayed with the Argentine duel in the Mixed Legends Tournament. The former number three in the world and the Swede Mats Wilander they prevailed 6-7 (7-9), 6-2 and 10-8 against Gisela Dulko and the Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev, in a fun meeting, full of jokes and laughter, which lasted one hour and 22 minutes.
Sabatini and Dulko returned to Paris to dispute, like last year, the Legends Trophy. On Tuesday they made their debut in the women’s draw -in which they were finalists in 2022- with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat against the French Nathalie Tauziat and the Danish Caroline Wozniacki.
This Thursday, they were on opposite sides of the net and the one who celebrated was Sabatini, who at 53 is enjoying himself again on a court. They will still join forces to play a new match on Saturday as teammates against rivals yet to be confirmed.
Two Argentine defeats
Two Argentines went out on Thursday to the field at the Bois de Boulogne complex to seek qualification for the finals of their respective tournaments. The two were left wanting to move forward.
Timetable Zeballos and his partner Marcel Granollers could not beat the Croatian Ivan Dodig and the American Austin Krajicek in one of the semis of the men’s doubles draw. The Argentine and the Spanish, seeded tenth, lost 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) with the duo that started as fourth favorite.
Zeballos and Granollers, who had just lost the best couple on the circuit in the quarterfinals, the Dutch Wesley Koolhof and the British Neal Skupski, stayed at the gates of their third Grand Slam final. They had already reached that instance at the US Open 2019 (they lost to the Colombians Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah) and Wimbledon 2021 (against the Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic). They were looking for their eighth title together.
Gustavo Fernández also said goodbye in the semis of the wheelchair contest. The Cordovan, third favorite and two-time singles champion in Paris (2016 and 2019), was defeated 6-2, 6-2 by the British Alfie Hewett, number one in the world.
The Lobito, the same, is still in the race in the doubles. This Thursday, together with the Spanish Martín De La Puente, he beat the Japanese Daisuke Arai and Takuya Miki 6-1 and 7-6 (7-3) and advanced to the semis in that draw.
Florencia Moreno got into the semis of the women’s doubles in a wheelchair. The Cañuelo and the Dutch Diede De Groot defeated the Japanese Momoko Ohtani and Jiske Griffioen, also from the Netherlands, 7-6 (9-7) and 7-5.
Swiatek-Muchova, the women’s final
Roland Garros You already know the two players who will play the final for the women’s title this Saturday: the Polish Every Swiateknumber one in the world, and the Czech Karolina Muchova43rd in the world ranking.
Swiatek advanced this Thursday for the third time to the decisive instance of the French Grand Slam, beating the Brazilian 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) Beatriz Haddad Maia14th in the ranking, in two hours and 9 minutes of a match in which she had to work much more than in the previous rounds.
It is that the Polish, champion in Paris in 2020 and 2022, had reached the semis with five too comfortable wins, in which she had given up just 15 games and no sets. But Haddad Maia did not hand him victory so easily.
Although Swiatek set the pace and monopolized the game in the opening set; the Brazilian, who had never gone so far in a “big one”, which lasted almost four hours), stood firm and gave her a fight in the second.
Haddad Maia, who had just played several very long duels (the worst, in the round of 16 against Sarah Smiles), played as equals against the great dominator that the women’s circuit has today, but her impetus and tennis were not enough. Swiatek raised the pressure in the tie break and sentenced the story. And he further secured No. 1, which she would have lost to Sabalenka if she didn’t reach the final.
“It was a tough game, especially in the second set. It was stressful at times. Beatriz played very well. She’s left-footed and she took advantage of it. She knows how to lift the ball a lot, but also play aggressive, it wasn’t easy, she’s a fighter and showed it”, analyzed the Polish, who will seek her fourth Major (she also won the US Open 2022). “That’s why I’m happy to have been able to close it out in the tie-break. And happy to be back in the final.”
His rival in the final will be Muchovawho gave the surprise by beating the Belarusian in the semis Aryna Sabalenka, number two in the world. The Czech prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7) and 7-5 in three hours and 13 minutes of play, after her rival missed a match point in the third set. She and she first advanced to the defining round of a “big”.
With an intelligent approach, Muchova – who had lost the Greek Maria Sakkari (8th) in the first round and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (333rd after an injury and finalist in Paris in 2021) in the quarterfinals – managed to deactivate the power of the Belarusian, champion in January in Australia and a few weeks ago in Madrid, who had reached the semis in Paris for the first time, and without losing a set along the way.
Sabalenka seemed to have the victory in her pocket when she served 5-2 and had the victory in her pocket after breaking in the sixth game of the last chapter (4-2) and then getting 5-2 with her serve. Then came his disaster and the resurrection of Muchova, who won 20 of the last 24 points of the match to seal his great victory.
“It’s unbelievable, I just kept fighting. But I don’t want to sound pretentious, I just kept working on my game,” said the Czech, who snapped the Belarusian’s 12-match Grand Slam winning streak.
2023-06-08 22:08:43
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