It is Sabalenka’s 11th career major semifinal, including her ninth semifinal in her last 10 Grand Slam tournaments as she continues her hunt for a maiden Roland Garros crown.
The top-seeded Sabalenka, who improved to 7-1 lifetime vs. Zheng, praised the eighth-seeded Chinese for a gripping battle.
“She played incredible tennis. She’s a great player, and I expected her to play a great match,” Sabalenka said of Zheng. “I enjoyed this battle. I enjoyed that I had to come back in that first set, and the first set was, like, really tight. It could go either way.
“So I was really enjoying it. I’m super happy that I got win in straight sets.”
In a rematch of the 2024 Australian Open final, Zheng said she felt she lost the match more than Sabalenka won it.
“I think maybe during the match I should play a bit more aggressive, and I think in the first set I made a lot of, you know, easy mistakes,” Zheng said. “I give her the chance so easy. Of course, I think mostly I made a match lose.
“I think mostly it’s on my hand because already I did some double fault in the first set when I’m leading with my service game. But, yeah, it’s tennis. There’s nothing more I can do.”
