Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka wasted a lead of a set and two breaks to lose 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
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PARIS — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka wasted a lead of a set and two breaks to lose 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The four-time major winner led 4-1 in the second set and was two points from victory when serving for the match at 5-4 before completely collapsing against a player appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"Well, honestly I am speechless. Super happy,” Shnaider said. "I feel like I was trying to focus point by point. Not thinking about the score. She is the world No. 1, so I just trying to do my best. I just had to fight for every point."
Sabalenka stood still and screamed loudly after losing a point to fall 0-30 down in the sixth game of the decider and, although she saved two match points at 0-40 down, she lost the match when she sent a shot into the net. In all, she lost 12 of the last 13 games on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Earlier, Wednesday, Maja Chwalinska extended her remarkable French Open run by beating No. 22-seeded Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 (3), 6-3 Wednesday.
For Sabalenka, her struggles were reminiscent of last year's final against Coco Gauff, when she remonstrated loudly, shouting to herself and glaring at her team box before losing to the American.
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Sabalenka had already looked agitated when serving for the first set but still looked in control as she served for the match in the second, holding a 30-15 lead.
But Shnaider, who was already on her best run at a major, broke Sabelenka before taking complete control.
Sabalenka looked increasingly frustrated as the third set wore on, and when she missed a volley at the net in the fourth game of the decider she crouched and rested her head on her racket.
The momentum had changed and the Belarusian was unable to find a way back.
Another upset
It was another big upset in a tournament where defending champion Gauff (third round) and four-time winner Iga Swiatek (fourth round) already tumbled out.
Defending men's champion Jannik Sinner served for the match in a second round defeat, and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic wasted a two-set lead in a third round loss.
That opened things up for lesser-known players.
From qualifier to contender
The unseeded Chwalinska came through three qualifying rounds to become only the second Polish woman to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros, along with Swiatek.
“I don't process it, you know,” Chwalinska said. “But definitely after the tournament finishes, I will have time to be grateful for what happened and process it as well.”
She said British player Emma Raducanu's run to the 2021 U.S. Open title as an 18-year-old qualifier had inspired her.
“It was such an impressive run, you know,” Chwalinska recalled. “Also, she was so young.”
When Kalinskaya's big forehand from the back of the court went out, the 24-year-old Chwalinska had her biggest win.
She put her hand over her mouth and then her face in her hands in near disbelief. Chwalinska had never been beyond the second round at any major before this tournament.
Whatever happens next, she has already doubled her career earnings.
Chwalinska's total prize money before this tournament was $864,030 and reaching the last four here earns her 750,000 euros (about $872,000).
Windy conditions
After they traded early breaks of serve amid blustery conditions with the roof open on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Chwalinska clinched the first set at the third opportunity when Kalinskaya's two-handed backhand sailed long.
“I feel like I was fighting against the wind, against the weather conditions,” Kalinskaya said. “It was cold today, so the ball was going slower. I couldn't use my speed, my power.”