French Open: Sabalenka, Muchova clinch semis spots; Gauff to meet Swiatek

June 6 (UPI) -- Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Muchova needed fewer than 100 minutes to dispatch of their quarterfinal foes and advance to the semifinals of the 2023 French Open with straight-sets victories Tuesday in Paris.

Sabalenka will meet Muchova on Thursday to battle for a spot in the women's singles final of the annual clay-court tennis Grand Slam.

"It has been an incredible two weeks," Muchova told the crowd after her victory. "I'm just glad I'm still in the competition."

Muchova first ended No. 133 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's magical Roland Garros run with a 7-6, 6-2 triumph in 1 hour, 38 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The No. 43-ranked Czech logged just one ace, but fired 21 winners and only made 15 unforced errors. Her Russian foe totaled 16 winners and 29 unforced errors.

Sabalenka then eliminated No. 192 Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine in a 1-hour, 36-minute match on the same court. The No. 2-ranked Belarusian fired 30 winners, compared to Svitolina's seven, in that 6-4, 6-4 victory.

"It was a tough match," Sabalenka said. "I'm super happy with the win. The atmosphere was amazing."

Two more women's quarterfinals will be held Wednesday at Roland Garros.

No. 7 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia will first meet No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia on Court Philippe-Chatrier. No. 6 Coco Gauff of the United States then will take on No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, determining the final women's semifinals spot.

Gauff advanced Monday with a straight-sets win over No. 100 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia. Swiatek moved on because of a walkover from No. 66 Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine in her fourth-round match

Later Tuesday, No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia will face No. 11 Karen Khachanov of Russian in the first of two men's quarterfinals on Day 10.

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain then will meet No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. The winner will face Djokovic or Khachanov in a men's semifinal Friday.

On Wednesday, No. 27 Alexander Zverev of Germany will meet No. 49 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina in another men's quarterfinal. No. 4 Casper Ruud of Norway and No. 6 Holger Rune of Denmark will play in the next match to determine the final men's semifinalist.

Quarterfinal coverage will air through 5 p.m. EDT Tuesday on Tennis Channel. Semifinal coverage will start at 6 a.m. Thursday on the same network.

Schedule

Wednesday

Quarterfinals from 5 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. on Tennis Channel

Thursday

Women's semifinals from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tennis Channel and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock

Friday

Men's semifinals from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tennis Channel and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on NBC/Peacock

Saturday

Women's final from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock

Sunday

Men's final from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on NBC/Peacock