As it is, Karolina Muchova was the unseeded, unexpected participant in the French Open semifinals.
And then, dealing with cramping legs nearly three hours into the match, she was just one point from losing to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who entered Thursday with a 12-0 Grand Slam record in 2023, including an Australian Open title.
Muchova somehow worked her way out of that difficult situation, grabbing the last five games against an error-prone Sabalenka for a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory at Roland Garros to reach her first major final at the last place she expected.
“A roller coaster,” Muchova said.
In Saturday’s title match, she will meet No. 1 Iga Swiatek, the defending champion, who got past No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6 (7) on Thursday night. Swiatek is seeking a third title in Paris and fourth major championship in all and her win in the semifinals assured the 22-year-old from Poland of remaining atop the WTA rankings.
‘I just tried to keep fighting’
At No. 43, Muchova is the fourth-lowest-ranked women’s finalist in French Open history. On the other hand, she is now 5-0 for her career against players ranked in the Top 3.
It was tough to decide which was more stunning: that Sabalenka lost — or the way she lost.
“I just tried to keep fighting and it worked,” Muchova said. “I really don’t know what happened.”
Well, here are the basics: Sabalenka held a match point while ahead 5-2 in the third set, but Muchova erased that with a forehand winner. That began a run in which Muchova collected 20 of the last 24 points.
“After that game, she kind of stepped in and started playing a little bit more aggressive, and I kind of lost my rhythm,” was Sabalenka’s summation. “Yeah, I wasn’t there.”
????️ Coming from 2-5 down in the deciding set<br>????️ Saving match point <br>????️ Reaching her first Slam final after 3h13m<br>????️ Becoming the first player to defeat Sabalenka at a major this year<br><br>Muchova’s Slav EPIC ????️<a href=”https://twitter.com/karomuchova7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@karomuchova7</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RolandGarros</a><a href=”https://t.co/sVBDxw3ZpU”>pic.twitter.com/sVBDxw3ZpU</a>
Until Saturday, this trip to Paris was far more complicated off the court for Sabalenka than on it, where all six of her opponents was unseeded.
The subject of Belarus’ role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the attacks began in February 2022 and continue to this day — and Sabalenka’s stance on the matter arose repeatedly, in part because she faced two Ukrainian opponents.
She was asked about the war following each of her first two victories, and Sabalenka refused to participate in standard post-match news conferences after her next two contests, saying she felt unsafe and wanted to protect her mental health and well-being. She returned to speaking to the media after her quarterfinal win.
Swiatek did not begin particularly well on Thursday, getting broken at love in the very first game. But she quickly turned that set around. Then, in the second, the big-swinging, left-handed Haddad Maia took a 3-1 lead, before Swiatek got back on serve.
In the tiebreaker, Haddad Maia held a set point at 6-5, but she slapped a seemingly neutral ball into the net. A few moments later, it was over, allowing Swiatek to improve to 60-13 in Grand Slam play for her career — the same record Serena Williams had after 73 matches at majors.
“It was stressful in some moments, so I’m happy that I was really solid and I was able to close it in the tiebreaker,” Swiatek said. “It wasn’t easy.”
Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning match point against Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil during their semifinal match on Thursday at Roland Garros. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Hours earlier, in the 80-degree warmth of Court Philippe Chatrier, Muchova’s variety and all-court style provided the right mix against one of the game’s biggest hitters.
An oversimplification, granted, but think of it this way: Sabalenka tries to hit the ball past her opponent; Muchova tries to hit the ball away from her opponent.
“It’s kind of a little bit tricky to build points against her,” Sabalenka said.
A magician on the court ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/karomuchova7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@karomuchova7</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/RolandGarros?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#RolandGarros</a><a href=”https://t.co/DXAVXwkeOK”>pic.twitter.com/DXAVXwkeOK</a>
The third set appeared to tilt toward Sabalenka when her pressure prompted some extra errors. A long forehand by Muchova resulted in a service break and a 4-2 lead for Sabalenka, who held for 5-2.
That’s when it all began to come apart for her.
Sabalenka needed just one more point to end it, but Muchova came up with a big serve and a quick-strike forehand winner to erase that chance.
“Just another point,” Muchova would say later.
Sabalenka couldn’t break there, but then she served for the victory at 5-3 — and again couldn’t come through. Muchova broke to 5-4, then sat down and massaged her right thigh during the ensuing changeover. Soon enough, suddenly, it was 5-all.
Sabalenka continued to miss and, as if blaming it all on her racket, tried to get the attention of her entourage in the stands so she could swap her equipment. She finished with 53 unforced errors, nearly twice as many as Muchova’s 27.
Muchova — who was stretching between points — simply kept hitting big shots.
“I could see,” Muchova said, “that she was struggling a little bit and doing fast mistakes.”
Muchova, a 26-year-old from the Czech Republic, has always found that her game worked best in faster conditions: Her best previous showing at a major was a semifinal run at the 2021 Australian Open on hard courts, her lone WTA title came on a hard court, and she never made it past the third round on the red clay at Roland Garros until now.
“It’s not my favourite surface,” Muchova said earlier in the tournament, “but I think I can play good on it.”
Sure played well enough Thursday.
Andreescu, Michael Venus fall in mixed doubles final
Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and mixed doubles partner Michael Venus of New Zealand came up just short in their quest for a French Open title on Thursday.
The duo fell in the mixed doubles final to Japan’s Miyu Kato and Tim Puetz of Germany 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 after a super tiebreak decided the outcome of the match at Roland Garros in Paris.
Andreescu, of Mississsauaga, Ont., and Venus advanced to the final with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) win over Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Nathaniel Lammons of the United States on Wednesday.
Kato left behind the disappointment of her controversial disqualification in doubles by claiming the mixed doubles title at the French Open on Thursday.
WATCH | Andreescu, Venus fall to Kato, Puetz:
Andreescu and Venus fall to Kato and Puetz in French Open mixed doubles final
15 hours ago
Duration 2:48
Japan’s Miya Kato teamed up with Germany’s Tim Puetz to defeat Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., and New Zealand’s Michael Venus (4-6,6-4,10-6) to win the 2023 French Open mixed doubles title.
Kato, 28, and her women’s doubles partner were defaulted during their third-round match last week after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck after a point.
Kato also forfeited all of her nearly $23,000 US in prize money and rankings points from women’s doubles but was allowed to keep participating in mixed doubles.
MONTREAL – On a night when New York’s top line was missing in action, the bit players grabbed the spotlight and led the Rangers to a commanding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“That’s the kind of team we have,” said Filip Chytil, who led the Rangers with a pair of power-play goals Tuesday. “The guys on the top line had chances but when they don’t score we have three other lines to pick up the slack.”
The Rangers’ dominance was reflected in the amount of time they spent in the Canadiens zone and their 45-23 edge in shots.
“If you’ve watched us practice, you know that’s something we work on all the time,” said Chytil. “When we get the puck, we want to hold on to it.”
The Rangers grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by Mika Zibanejad at the 56-second mark and Jonny Brodzinski at 2:05, but it was Montreal which pressed the play in the first minute.
“I thought we had a good start but they turned it around on us,” said Montreal coach Martin St. Louis.
Lane Hutson controlled the puck off the opening faceoff and had two early shots, both of which were blocked by New York’s Jacob Trouba.
“That was huge for us,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. “We know (Trouba) can generate offence but he can come up with those big defensive plays.”
Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault exited at 11:05 of the first period after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Zibanejad, Brodzinski, Chytil and Reilly Smith all scored on the Habs’ starter.
His replacement, Cayden Primeau, stopped 33 of 35 shots, giving up goals to Braden Schneider, Kaapo Kakko and Chytil.
Nick Suzuki scored both of the Montreal goals, his first strikes of the season
“It didn’t really feel like a 7-2 game until the end there when you look up at the scoreboard,” Suzuki said. “But we obviously keep digging ourselves these holes, and against a good team like that, our details early on have to be really sharp. And we were definitely a little sleepy coming out and they jumped on us.”
Hutson led the Canadiens in ice time with 24:10 but this wasn’t one of his better games. Smith scored on a breakaway after taking the puck off Hutson’s stick and the rookie was minus-4 for the night.
After Tuesday’s morning practice, the Canadiens announced forward Juraj Slafkovsky will miss at least a week with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Kaiden Guhle missed a second consecutive game with an upper-body injury but the team said it isn’t a long-term ailment.
The injury situation didn’t get any better after Trouba flattened Justin Barron at 7:11 of the third period. Barron didn’t return to the ice but there was no immediate word on his condition.
The Rangers welcomed back defenceman Ryan Lindgren, who made his season debut after missing five games with a jaw injury.
Before the game, 14 players from the Canadiens’ team that won four consecutive Stanley Cups between 1976 and 1979 were introduced at the Bell Centre. Among them were Hockey Hall of Fame members Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey and Ken Dryden.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
TOKYO – Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu have both moved on to the quarterfinals at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Fernandez advanced after downing Varvara Gracheva 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old from Laval, Que., fired three aces and converted 5-of-11 break points during the two-hour 15-minute match. Gracheva, of France, battled back in the second set, winning 72.2 per cent of her first-serve points, before Fernandez rallied in the third set.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., advanced after Beatriz Haddad Maia retired due to a back injury while trailing 3-0 in the first set. Haddad Maia, the No. 2 seed, appeared to be in pain from the second game onward and took a medical timeout before exiting the match.
In the quarterfinals, Fernandez takes on the winner of a matchup between the tournament’s top seed, Qinwen Zheng of China, and Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, while Andreescu faces either Katie Boulter or Kyoka Okamura.
In women’s doubles action, Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe were up 6-3, 1-2 on Japanese pair Nao Hibino and Miyu Kato when their match was suspended.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport, the auctioneer said Wednesday.
“We received bids from around the world, a testament to the significance of this iconic collectible and Ohtani’s impact on sports, and I’m thrilled for the winning bidder,” Ken Goldin, the founder and CEO of auctioneer Goldin Auctions said in a statement.
The auction opened on Sept. 27 with a starting bid of $500,000 and closed just after midnight on Wednesday. The auctioneer said it could not disclose any information about the winning bidder.
The auction has been overshadowed by the litigation over ownership of the ball. Christian Zacek walked out of Miami’s LoanDepot Park with the ball after gaining possession in the left-field stands. Max Matus and Joseph Davidov each claim in separate lawsuits that they grabbed the ball first.
All the parties involved in the litigation agreed that the auction should continue.
Matus’ lawsuit claims that the Florida resident — who was celebrating his 18th birthday — gained possession of the Ohtani ball before Zacek took it away. Davidov claims in his suit that he was able to “firmly and completely grab the ball in his left hand while it was on the ground, successfully obtaining possession of the 50/50 ball.”
Ohtani and the Dodgers are preparing for Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Friday night.
