Iga Swiatek continues her successful defense of her Roland Garros title. The Polish player, seeded No. 5, defeated Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 in nearly an hour and 45 minutes of play.

The first set was taken decisively by the four-time champion in Paris. Swiatek saved a break point in her opening service game and was merciless from then on. In the second set, Svitolina hit first, but there wan an immediate rebreak. However, in the 11th game, the Ukrainian cracked and there was no turning back for her in the match.

The difference in the match came in the winners - 23 to 12 for the Pole, with an almost equal number of unforced errors - 29 to 28, with one more on Swiatek's account.

She has not lost a semifinal at the French Open so far - 4/4, and now she faces a tough clash with world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who earlier today stopped Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in two sets. Swiatek leads 8-4 in direct clashes, but the last one was taken by Sabalenka - a victory in the semi-finals of the tournament in Cincinnati.

The other 1/2-final will be formed by the pairs Mirra Andreeva - Lois Boisson and Madison Keys - Coco Gauff. | BGNES