World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka lost to Russian 25th seed Diana Shnaider 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 in the French Open quarter-finals on August 23, ending her run at Roland Garros this year [1, 2, 3]. Sabalenka has not advanced beyond her runner-up finish at the tournament last year [1, 2, 3].
Shnaider battled back from deficits of 4-1 in the first set and 5-3 in the second to secure the victory [1, 2, 3]. Before beating Sabalenka, Shnaider had also defeated former Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in the previous round [1, 2, 3]. Her win over Sabalenka marks her first over a world No. 1 player and advances her to her first Grand Slam semi-final [1, 2, 3].
In the semi-finals, Shnaider will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who reached her first Major semi-final by defeating Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 on August 23 [1, 2, 3]. Chwalinska is only the second qualifier in the Open era to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals. She described her run by saying, "I honestly don’t know what’s going on. I know I repeat myself but every single match here is kind of crazy for me so I’m very grateful. I just try to win every match that I’m playing." [1]
On August 22, Alexander Zverev secured his place in the French Open semi-finals by defeating Rafael Jodar 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, 6-3 [1, 2, 3]. The German, seeded second, is considered a leading contender to win his first Grand Slam title after early exits by top seeds Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic [1, 2, 3]. Zverev, who has finished runner-up in three Grand Slam finals including Roland Garros two years ago, said about being the favorite, "As I said before, I don’t particularly care (about being the favourite)." [1]
The semi-final matches are set, with Shnaider facing Chwalinska and Zverev awaiting his opponents. The tournament progress continues amid unexpected results and breakthrough performances [1, 2, 3].