‘I want to quit tennis’: World number one Aryna Sabalenka calls it quits after dream of first French Open title

Aryna Sabalenka (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: Aryna Sabalenkova’s dream of winning her first French Open title came to a dramatic end as the world number one suffered a stunning quarter-final defeat after throwing away the lead.Sabalenkova looked firmly in control against Diana Shnaider, winning the first set and leading 4-1 in the second. She was also only two points away from victory when serving for the match. However, Belarus completely lost their rhythm as Shnaider staged a remarkable comeback to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final. Sabalenka’s defeat after yet another major collapse on the biggest stage visibly destroyed and challenged her mindset.“I want to quit tennis now,” said Sabalenka. “We’ll see in a few days. Hopefully I’ll be back on track mentally.”Watch:The match mirrored Sabalenka’s painful French Open final loss to Coco Gauff last year, where she also won the opening set before unforced errors derailed her challenge. Frustrations mounted against Shnaider as the errors piled up and she lost 12 of her last 13 games.“You know those rooms where you just walk in and break everything,” Sabalenka said. “I’ll probably spend all day there tomorrow destroying things. Maybe it will help, maybe it won’t.”Reflecting on the defeat, she added, “I just think it’s a combination of everything. You think, then you make easy mistakes, then you miss opportunities.”Shnaider admitted that she noticed her opponent’s emotions during the match, but focused on her own game.“Obviously I saw some moments of her frustration,” Shnaider said. “I know Aryna is a very emotional person.Shnaider will now face unseeded Maja Chwalinska, who continued her fairytale run by defeating Anna Kalinska. Chwalinska became only the second Polish woman after Iza Swiatek to reach the semifinals of Roland Garros.The tournament saw some major upsets as defending champion Coco Gauff, four-time winner Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic all dropped out. According to Opta, this is the first Grand Slam since the 1977 French Open without a former champion in both the men’s and women’s semifinals.