Diana Shnaider 'speechless' after beating Aryna Sabalenka in huge French Open quarter-final upset - 'Super special tournament'

Sabalenka was hunting retribution following her tough defeat to Coco Gauff in last year's Roland-Garros final and was the favourite to lift her first title in Paris because of a number of high-profile exits.

She appeared ominous in establishing a set and double-break lead but, from the jaws of defeat, Shnaider launched a spectacular comeback to record 3-6 7-5 6-0 victory.

A notably windy and chilly Court Philippe-Chatrier made the court far slower than that which saw Sabalenka's big-hitting power prevail on the opening week in Paris.

The top seed still managed to dominate early proceedings but began to appear rattled against a spirited Shnaider as the second set wore on and her victory became hard to close out.

It culminated with Shnaider levelling the match and soaring into a third-set advantage - her thumping forehand down the line continuously drawing winners - with prominent echoes of Sabalenka's collapse against Gauff 12 months ago.

"Honestly, I'm speechless," Shnaider said on court. "I'm super happy, obviously today it was tough conditions with the wind.

"First time playing Aryna, super nervous, and quarter-finals for the first time. The first set was trying to adjust to her game and the conditions with the wind.

"Trying to figure out how to play. I was trying to focus point by point, not thinking about the score. She's the world No. 1, so just trying to do my best and see how it goes. I just fight for every point and try to run for every ball."

Sabalenka charged into a commanding 5-1 lead in the opening set and squandered two game points to suffer her only break of the match as Shnaider hoped to mount a comeback by pulling back to 5-3. However, the 22-year-old could not prevent Sabalenka serving out the set, despite having a break-point opportunity.

An immediate break in the second placed Sabalenka in the box seat and victory for the four-time Grand Slam champion appeared a foregone conclusion when she wrapped up a clinical break to love for 4-1.

But a late Sabalenka dip, combined with some spirited, courageous hitting from her counterpart, saw the No. 25 seed launch an impressive fightback.

Shnaider won 10 games in succession to not only level the match, but go on to win it with a bagel. Sabalenka appeared at a loss about what exactly was going wrong on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and ran out of time to find an answer, belting her frustrations into the Paris sky on numerous occasions on a torrid afternoon.

"Super special win," Shnaider said. "I feel like in the third set I finally found my rhythm, how to play, where to be defensive and to attack. Super happy I managed to finish on a good note. Super special tournament for me here."

Shnaider will face Chwalinska for a place in the final. Chwalinska beat No. 22 seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(3) 6-3 earlier on Court Philippe-Chatrier, becoming just the sixth qualifier in the Open Era to reach the women's semi-finals at a Grand Slam.

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