World number one Aryna Sabalenka says she fell into a “very deep, dark hole” mentally as she unravelled in a crushing quarter-final defeat by Diana Shnaider in yet another French Open shock.
Sabalenka, a beaten finalist at Roland Garros last year, was 6-3 4-1 up before the momentum suddenly shifted and sparked an extraordinary comeback from Shnaider.
The Russian 25th seed, playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, reeled off 12 of the final 13 games to win 3-6 7-5 6-0 and complete a monumental upset.
“I don’t know when was the last time that I lost 10 games in a row,” Sabalenka said.
“Mentally I got into very deep, deep, dark hole over there, and I just couldn’t get back on track.”
Sabalenka had been the only Grand Slam singles champion remaining in an open women’s draw and was the heavy favourite for the title.
Her defeat means Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s draw.
Windy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier wreaked havoc with Sabalenka’s powerful hitting and the Belarusian committed 57 unforced errors.
She was quick to voice her frustration as her performance dropped off, throwing her arms up, letting out guttural roars and unleashing her fury on her team.
It was reminiscent of her defeat in last year’s final, when Sabalenka tallied a huge 70 unforced errors and let a one-set lead slip against Coco Gauff.
Asked for her reaction in her post-match news conference, Sabalenka said: “No thoughts, no emotions. Just want to quit tennis right now.
“We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.”
Shnaider will face qualifier Maja Chwalinska in a semi-final few would have predicted, after the Pole defeated Anna Kalinskaya earlier on Wednesday.
“Honestly I am speechless,” Shnaider said in her post-match interview.
“She is the world number one, so I was just trying to do my best. I had to fight for every point.”
Shnaider’s doubles partner Andreeva will face in-form 15th seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the other semi-final on Thursday.
