When one last forehand from defending champion Iga Swiatek landed wide in the French Open quarterfinals, Maria Sakkari crouched on Court Philippe Chatrier and bowed …
When one last forehand from defending champion Iga Swiatek landed wide in the French Open quarterfinals, Maria Sakkari crouched on Court Philippe Chatrier and bowed her head, relishing the moment. Sakkari is still two wins away from lifting the trophy, but Wednesday’s victory means she’s already in new territory — just like the other three women left in the draw. Sakkari ended Swiatek’s 11-match and 22-set winning streaks at Roland Garros by beating her 6-4,6-4 Wednesday to guarantee that there will be a first-time Grand Slam champion when the tournament ends. On Thursday, the 17th-seeded Sakkari plays unseeded Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals, and No.31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova faces unseeded Tamara Zidansek. All four are making their Slam semifinal debuts. “We are four very good players,” Sakkari said. “Players that can win a title, for sure.” Krejcikova advanced Wednesday by eliminating 17-year-old Coco Gauff 7-6 (6),6-3. This is only the second time in the professional era that there has been four first-time semifinalists at any major tournament, according to the WTA. It also happened at the 1978 Australian Open. In the men’s quarterfinals,13-time champion Rafael Nadal’s streak of sets won at Roland Garros ended at 36 but he quickly recovered to defeat Diego Schwartzman 6-3,4-6,6-4,6-0. Nadal’s semifinal foe will be Novak Djokovic or Matteo Berrettini. Sakkari, who can become Greece’s first Grand Slam singles champion, and Krejcikova, who is from the Czech Republic, are both 25. Each has won only one tour-level title.
