'I'm in shock' - Legend Chris Evert breaks down 'strange' Aryna Sabalenka implosion in French Open quarter-final defeat: 'One of the strangest'

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Eighteen-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert said Aryna Sabalenka's collapse against Diana Shnaider was "one of the strangest" tennis spectacles she has ever seen.

Watch as stunned experts react to Sabalenka's 'meltdown' against Shnaider

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Sabalenka, the clear favourite to win the French Open title, charged a set and a double-break ahead against Shnaider before the No. 25 seed launched a spirited comeback in windy conditions to overturn the deficit and take the decider via a bagel by winning 10 consecutive games.

World No. 1 Sabalenka was looking to avenge her crushing defeat to Coco Gauff in last year's final which saw her pegged back from a winning position.

Instead, she suffered the same fate but this time in the quarter-finals and Evert was left stunned by Wednesday's proceedings on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

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"I'm in shock," the TNT Sports expert said. "It was one of the strangest matches I've ever seen, where a No. 1 player can be up pretty comfortably a set and a half and then her game went off.

"Her timing went off, she wasn't adjusting to the wind. Does she not know how to play in the wind? Top players know how to make those adjustments and they're a little bit more flexible but she kept aiming for the lines, instead of two or three feet within the lines, which I didn't think was very smart.

"Then all of a sudden at 4-1 she [Shnaider] started hitting those forehands down the line, she just went for broke.

'Speechless' Shnaider on 'very special' win as she downs world No. 1 Sabalenka

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"She thought she was out of the match, had nothing to lose, she went for forehands down the line which we hadn't seen and kept up the pace the whole time.

"Never let up. Credit to Diana, it was an unbelievable match and she's here to stay."

The conditions were a big talking point and appeared to work against Sabalenka in a similar way to which the heat blighted men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in his early tournament exit.

But Evert was left confused about Sabalenka's struggles to adapt.

"I don't think she's learned how to play in the wind," Evert said. "Maybe they don't practice in the wind. I don't know. But I know coming from Florida, you better know how to play in the wind.

"The wind [requires] footwork. Her footwork isn't the best. Her movement is, the long strides are great, but those adjustment steps around the ball, when the ball could go two inches one way, two feet the other way, the wind wreaks havoc on a tennis ball.

"You have to wait until the last second to get your feet set and then hit the ball. Her feet were all over the place, she was off-balance. It wasn't her day.

"I've been a No. 1 player and won Slams, you have to win seven matches. You have to have your A-game every match and today she didn't have her A-game. It wasn't there for her. She's human, let's put it that way."

The longer the match went on, the more visibly frustrated Sabalenka grew. And the more frustrated, the more erratic her play became. On several occasions, she roared into the sky and towards her coaching box and Evert felt mental factors contributed to her capitulation.

"She looked frustrated the whole match," Evert said. "She looked frustrated with the wind but she was winning. So we thought it's Aryna, she's emotional, she's passionate.

"When it came to talking to her team, it looked like she was blaming them with something, it got to be a little more into her head.

Watch as Shnaider shocks top seed Sabalenka in 'an almighty upset' at French Open

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"In the first week, five out of the top seeds had lost. Maybe that was in the back of her mind, like 'I really have to win this'. It wasn't her week. There could be a million reasons why. Only she knows."

Henman, Wilander react to Sabalenka 'meltdown'

TNT Sports expert Tim Henman was left "staggered and shocked" after watching Sabalenka's collapse but was keen to praise Shnaider for her remarkable fightback.

"The first set and a half, it wasn't easy out there," Henman said. "But it was Sabalenka in control, and in the context of the world No. 1 to lose 10 games in a row, she's had a bit of a meltdown out there.

"But Shnaider deserves a lot of credit. She was there fighting for each and every point, staying in rallies, making no unforced errors when it wasn't easy at all."

He added: "It's a lonely place. When you're out on your own in a big match and things aren't going your way. There's no one to turn to, no substitutes allowed.

"But it's important we focus on the other side of the court. Shnaider did such a good job, down a set, she was getting beaten and outplayed but she hung in there. Her mentality, her resilience."

Mats Wilander, meanwhile, was also quick to point out the pitfalls with Sabalenka's footwork and felt Shnaider did an "excellent job" adapting to the conditions.

"It has a lot to do with her footwork," Wilander said of Shnaider's success. "She takes small steps, when you're dealing with the wind you have to take small steps, can't take big steps like Sabalenka.

"Because the wind is moving the ball around you're going to lose your spacing from the ball. Shnaider did an excellent job.

"You've got the work the angles, work the wind. Shnaider all credit to her, obviously Sabalenka had a lot to do with it, she got completely unravelled. But in the end it's Shnaider that wins the match and another upset in the tournament."

And he feels such a landmark victory for Shnaider, in her first-ever career meeting against Sabalenka, stands her in great stead for the business-end of the tournament.

Watch as Shnaider brings battle to Sabalenka with big upset on the cards

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"When you can win a match like this against the best player in the world, the confidence, because of the wind, is huge," Wilander said.

"Suddenly you think you can overcome any obstacle, the No. 1 player in the world and 29mph wind. She was striking the ball beautifully. Her confidence is going to be absolutely huge."

Shnaider will face Polish qualifer Maja Chwalinska in the semi-finals.

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