Tennis legend shared why it was tough for her to watch Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open.
The second seed was on a mission to win her third Grand Slam and first in Paris, and she had played some dominant tennis on her way to the quarter-finals.
But during her battle with 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday, the 26-year-old seemed to struggle with illness and was unable to run for some shots as she usually would.
Though Sabalenka was not at her best she dug deep and made life as difficult as she could for the teenager, who was playing in the last eight of a major for the first time.
But her competitive spirit was not enough as the Belarusian suffered her first Grand Slam defeat of 2024.
What did Chris Evert say about Aryna Sabalenka’s performance?
Evert appeared on Eurosport to commentate on what was set to be an intriguing Roland Garros quarter-final.
That proved to be the case as Andreeva expertly handled the pressure not only of the match but also playing against an ailing opponent.
Following the Russian’s victory, Evert shared her honest opinion of watching Sabalenka, who was clearly less than 100%.
“What was so uncomfortable and disconcerting was the fact that she wouldn’t go for certain shots and you could tell she was bending over and wasn’t feeling well,” the 18-time Grand Slam winner said.
“But on the other hand she wouldn’t have played if she didn’t think she had a chance. We’re all competitors, she’s not going to go through the motions and lose a match 6-2, 6-3 feeling horrible, she’s gonna walk off and default and withdraw from the tournament.
“So she still felt good enough to play, otherwise she wouldn’t have been out there, that’s why it was so uncomfortable.”
Andreeva claims her first win over Aryna Sabalenka to reach first Grand Slam semi-final
At such a young age, Andreeva showed great poise and maturity in what was her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
She narrowly lost the first set to Sabalenka on a tiebreak, but despite falling behind and her opponent battling illness, the World number 38 battled her way back into the match.
She secured a break of serve at 5-4 in both sets to clinch a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 in two and a half hours.
“Honestly I was really nervous before the match, I knew she’d have an advantage,” said Andreeva, who plays 12th seed Jasmine Paolini in Thursday’s semi-final. “Me and my coach, we had a plan today but again I didn’t remember anything. I just try to play as I feel.”
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