Karolina Muchova inflicts shock French Open semi-final defeat on Sabalenka

Karolina Muchova saved a match point to stun Aryna Sabalenka and reach her first grand slam final at the French Open.

The unseeded Czech fought back from 5-2 down in the deciding set to claim a 7-6 (5) 6-7 (5) 7-5 victory in a tremendous contest lasting three hours and 13 minutes. Sabalenka, who was bidding to win back-to-back slam titles after lifting the Australian Open trophy, appeared to have turned things in her favour but tightened up in sight of the line and Muchova made her pay.

At No 43 in the world, the 26-year-old is the fourth lowest-ranked woman to reach the final here, while it is the fifth year in a row that the final will feature an unseeded player.

A delighted Muchova said: “I don’t really know what happened. The atmosphere, it’s unbelievable. I just tried to keep fighting and it worked. I’m so happy.”

The Czech was playing in her second slam semi-final having also reached the last four at the Australian Open in 2021, but injuries severely restricted her last year, with her ranking dropping outside the top 200. Muchova has been climbing rapidly this year, though, and can break into the top 10 by lifting the trophy.

Sabalenka, who has found attention more on her off-court views than her tennis this fortnight, made the faster start but Muchova grew steadily into the match and made the first big move, breaking for 5-4. Back came Sabalenka immediately, though, a forehand winner saving a set point and then more crunching groundstrokes earning her the break.

It was a compelling contest between the raw power and aggression of Sabalenka and the more subtle skills of Muchova, who gave a masterful display of using angles and changes of direction as well as being very willing to come to the net. She is not averse