PA Media/dpa
Paris
Iga Swiatek’s 25-match winning run at Roland Garros was ended in the Olympic singles semi-finals by Zheng Qinwen in a huge upset on Thursday.
Swiatek has dominated on the Parisian clay, winning four French Open titles in the last five years and three in a row, but the best she can now hope for is a bronze medal after falling to a 6-2, 7-5 defeat.
The Pole led 4-0 in the second set as she appeared to have turned the match around, but China’s Zheng won four games in a row and eventually clinched victory against a frustrated Swiatek.
It is the world number one’s first loss at Roland Garros since she was beaten by Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2021.
Swiatek did not shake the umpire’s hand at the end of the match and broke down in tears during a TV interview before declining to speak to written journalists.
Australian Open runner-up Zheng, meanwhile, becomes the first Chinese player to reach an Olympic tennis final.
She had lost all six previous matches against Swiatek, and the 21-year-old said: “This means everything to me because finally I broke the stage I always have in my head, I finally showed I could beat the world number one on her best surface, at Roland Garros. It really does mean everything.
“I’m so happy that I can make this history for Chinese tennis. I always wanted to be one of the athletes who can get a medal for China, for our country, and right now I’m one of them. I’ve made history already but I don’t want to stop here.”
Carlos Alcaraz guaranteed himself a shot at a medal with a 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) victory over American Tommy Paul to reach the men’s singles semi-finals.
The 21-year-old picked himself up after the disappointment of Wednesday night’s doubles loss with Rafael Nadal, recovering from 5-2 down in the second set.
There is guaranteed to be a new champion, with Tokyo gold medallist Alexander Zverev losing 7-5, 7-5 to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.
Musetti, who reached his first grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon, has maintained his good form on the clay and becomes the first Italian to reach the last four in Olympic singles in the modern era.
Zverev, who was dreaming of a second straight single gold, became the last German to be knocked out of the tennis competitions at Roland Garros.
Zverev, who had complained about the Paris heat in an earlier round but had a evening match in the last 16, appeared to struggle again in the hot sun as spectators incessantly waved their hand fans at Roland Garros. He even took one fan from a spectator as a joke.
Although the evening start against Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday saved him from the sun, it also meant he only had 18 hours before his last-eight clash.
“I can’t tell you how annoyed I am. the schedule is so cheeky,” Zverev told the Bild newspaper before the contest.
The German, who reached the French Open final at the same venue in June but lost to Carlos Alcaraz, is a diabetic and has said the heat causes him problems due to the condition.
The third seed did not look fully fit and slipped 2-0 down straight away. He got the break back for 5-5, only to lose his next service game when he was too timid at the baseline and allowed the Italian to dominate. Musetti then closed out the first set with a perfect drop shot.
He tended to hang back in the second set too but did enough to stay in the contest until 11th seed Musetti broke for 6-5 and then held for victory.
The roof was closed midway through the second set but rain apparently on the way and Musetti seemed unhappy with the decision judging by his discussion with the umpire.
