Aryna Sabalenka is into her second Roland Garros semi-final after earning a revenge of 7-6(3) 6-3 victory over Qinwen Zheng.
The world No. 1 came back from a break down in the opening set to edge past Zheng in two competitive sets.
It was a sweet win for Sabalenka over the Olympic champion after losing to Zheng in Rome just before Roland Garros.
Sabalenka will face either defending champion Iga Swiatek or Elina Svitolina on Thursday.
The top seed had to show great character throughout the match though as Zheng made an aggressive start to the contest, using the angles and pace to force Sabalenka into errors.
A proactive start to the match was rewarded for Zheng as she broke in the third game for a 2-1 lead.
Clearly having confidence from the Rome victory, Zheng continued to be aggressive and dictate play from the baseline as she held serve efficiently.
However, as expected Aryna Sabalenka adapted tactically to the contest and managed to take more risks as the set went on.
On her first break point of the match, Sabalenka converted and managed to level the set at 4-4 in what would be a tense ending to the contest.
Both stars had opportunities towards the end of the set but a huge misjudgement over a ball mark from Zheng allowed Sabalenka to create set point in the twelfth game.
A remarkable response was produced by Zheng as a sensational passing shot winner saved set point and was emphatically backed up by the Chinese number one as a tiebreak would decide the set.
Momentum was with Zheng as she won the opening two points with some aggressive play which forced Sabalenka in defensive positions.
This rollercoaster set would have more turns as Sabalenka applied a mass amount of pressure on Zheng and errors flowed from Zheng’s racket.
Seven of the next eight points were won by the world number one who took an epic first set.
In the second set Sabalenka played the bigger points better as she broke early on in the second set which was followed by an immediate break back by Zheng.
The eighth seed was unable to sustain her level though and lacked first serves as she was ultimately broken in her next two service games with Sabalenka prevailing in a highly competitive contest.
After the match Sabalenka described the contest as a battle, “That was a true battle. Honestly I have no idea how I was able to break her back and get back in the first set,” Sabalenka was quoted by the BBC Sport website as saying.
“I was just trying to fight and I was just trying to put as many balls as I could back in. I didn’t start well but I’m really glad I found my rhythm and won this match. It was a tough one. I was just more fresh today and I was ready to battle, fight and leave everything that I have on court to get this win. I think that’s about it. I’m really happy with the win.”
Now Sabalenka will finally look to reach her first Roland Garros final of her career when she faces either four-time champion Iga Swiatek or Elina Svitolina.