The complicated story of Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open - ESPN
ESPN Aryna Sabalenka was one point away from reaching her first French Open final. Facing the unseeded Karolina Muchova in the semifinals on Thursday, she had battled back after losing the first set in a tiebreak, and now held a commanding lead at 5-2 in the decider.
The Roland Garros final looked all but inevitable. As if it would be the latest milestone in a year full of them.
But 18 minutes later, Muchova had not only saved match point, but had come back to stun Sabalenka, winning 20 of the final 24 points. As Muchova threw her hands in the air in celebration, the Philippe-Chatrier crowd roared and stood in ovation for her heroics in a match that had gone over three hours. The dejected Sabalenka quickly found her way off the court.
Until Thursday, Sabalenka had yet to drop a set at Roland Garros, nor lose a Grand Slam match this year. It had been a monumental season for the 25-year-old. She opened the year with the title at Adelaide and then had her breakthrough moment in Melbourne by winning the Australian Open. She has since reached the world No. 2 ranking, nabbed another trophy at Madrid and played in the finals at Indian Wells and Stuttgart.
