In a tournament of shocks, it was the most momentous of all. Iga Swiatek, who arrived in Paris as the defending champion and advanced relentlessly to the quarter-finals, keeping her head as seeds all around her were losing theirs, was summarily dismissed from the French Open by Maria Sakkari on an afternoon that the inspired Greek will surely remember for the rest of her life.
Swiatek, the overwhelming favourite for the title, had not dropped a set at Roland Garros since 2019, but slumped to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat as the effervescent Sakkari – intense, determined and relentlessly positive – joined her compatriot Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last four. The 17th-seeded Greek, who has never previously been beyond the fourth round of a major, is now the highest-ranked player left standing.
Sakkari will play Barbora Krejcikova, the world No 33, for a place in the final, after the Czech came through in straight sets against the American teenager Coco Gauff. With Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Tamara Zidansek facing each other in the bottom half of the draw, the semi-finals will be contested by four women who have never previously been so deep at a major. Only once before has that happened in the open era, at the Australian Open in 1978, a time when few top players made the long December trip to Melbourne.
When the red dust settles, women’s tennis will have its 13th different grand slam champion since 2017. Sakkari is not oblivious to the opportunity that lies ahead. “I’m speechless, it’s a dream come true,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without my team and their support … We still have a long way to go, of course, but we made a huge step today.
“Before coming in the match I just sat down by myself and spoke to myself and said, ‘It’s a very important match, but just enjoy it, because this is one of the best stadiums in the world.’ I had to enjoy it.”
Krejcikova too had spoken of trying to enjoy her match, and the ability to handle the pressure that accompanies a career-defining moment was a dominant factor in each of the four quarter-finals. Of the women involved, only Swiatek had previously advanced beyond that stage at a major. But as her peers fell and the sense of expectation surrounding her reached fever pitch, enjoyment was a luxury the Pole could ill-afford to indulge.
Both players looked nervous in the initial stages, but after an early exchange of breaks it was Sakkari who established her rhythm the quicker. She was assisted by some uncharacteristically loose play from Swiatek, who would go on to make 25 unforced errors in all. Trailing by a set and 2-0, Swiatek took a medical timeout for treatment to her right thigh, eventually re-emerging on to Court Philippe Chatrier with the offending limb strapped. Sakkari had won five successive games by that stage, but did not allow the delay to interrupt her momentum, calmly gathering her thoughts before pushing for the finish line.
Emotional management was similarly decisive in the first quarter-final, where the level-headed Krejcikova survived five set points in the opening set, and a late fightback from her opponent in the second, to seal a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win.
Gauff may only be three years into her professional career, but already she has the aura of a seasoned campaigner. Two years after she made the fourth round of Wimbledon at the absurdly precocious age of 15, beating former champion Venus Williams along the way, she is ranked 25th in the world, an established presence on the big stage.
This was nonetheless Gauff’s deepest run at a major, and she was desperate to seize the moment. For the first 12 minutes, she did precisely that. Oozing class and confidence, the American picked up from where she had left off in the previous round, where she obliterated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in just 53 minutes. In a blur of big serves and booming backhands, she raced through the opening three games, her emotional intensity off the scale.
Krejcikova too was contesting her first major quarter-final. Unlike Gauff, however, she has rarely made much of a splash as a singles player. Until the past fortnight, where she has sustained the fine run of form that carried her to her first WTA title in Strasbourg on the eve of the tournament, her best showing at the slams amounted to a couple of second round appearances at the Australian. Yet Krejcikova, a former world No 1 doubles player with French Open and Wimbledon titles to her name, does not want for experience, and that is the one vital ingredient that Gauff lacks. The 33rd-ranked Czech made it count.
Krejcikova’s anxiety was obvious in the early stages, but she refused to let Gauff’s bustling intensity get to her, taking her time and doing her utmost to relax. She steadied the ship, got back on level terms and was not dismayed when the American moved ahead once again, sensibly keeping the ball in play to break after Gauff fluffed a set point on her serve. The Czech saved another two set points as she came through a seven-minute service game at 5-6, and when she drilled two spectacular forehand winners from 6-4 down in the ensuing tiebreak, Gauff’s challenge began to crumble.
“I didn’t have a good start to the clay season, then coming to Strasbourg I was just really relieved and enjoying my game,” said Krejcikova. “Then I won the title and it was really nice, and now I’m here in the semi-finals. I never imagined that I would be standing here one day and playing on this court, especially singles, and being able to win. Already for me this is something I’ve never dreamed of.
“The first set was really important. I was down all the time, but I just told myself go for every ball, just play, just enjoy and see. I was always behind a little bit, then I just made it somehow, I don’t know. The second set I started really well and then I was leading, and then it got a little bit tight, but again I was just enjoying.”
With the stakes sky high for all four semi-finalists, enjoyment promises to be at a premium from hereon in.