WATCH: Karolina Muchova's winning moment as she beats Aryna Sabalenka to enter French Open final
Karolina Muchova stunned Aryna Sabalenka to book her place in the 2023 French Open final.
The two players battled for 3 hours and 13 minutes in a match that Muchova eventually won 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5. Muchova outlasted the World No. 2 to enter her maiden Grand Slam final, ending Sabalenka's 12-match winning streak in Grand Slams.
Muchova took the early lead in the match after winning a close first set in a tiebreaker. However, Sabalenka roared back in the second set to level the playing field. It looked like the reigning Australian Open champion would enter her second consecutive Major final but she failed to convert her sole match point at 5-3, 30-40 in the third set on Muchova's serve.
Muchova took advantage of Sabalenka's error and went on to break her twice and served out the match.
Muchova seemed to be in disbelief after pulling off the upset, with her head in her towel as she won her fifth straight match against a top-three opponent. The result means that she is now poised to enter the top 20 of the WTA rankings. If Muchova goes on to lift the trophy in Paris this week, she could make her top 10 debut.
🖌️ Coming from 2-5 down in the deciding set
🖌️ Saving match point
🖌️ Reaching her first Slam final after 3h13m
🖌️ Becoming the first player to defeat Sabalenka at a major this year
Muchova's Slav EPIC 🖼️
@karomuchova7 | #RolandGarros
https://t.co/sVBDxw3ZpU
Furthermore, Muchova became the fourth Czech woman to reach the French Open final since 2015.
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka could still rise to the top of the WTA rankings if Iga Swiatek fails to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second semifinal.
A look into Karolina Muchova's journey to the French Open final
Karolina Muchova began her 2023 French Open campaign against eighth seed Maria Sakkari, a former Roland Garros semifinalist. While the match was closely contested, Muchova saw off Sakkari in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
In the second round, the Czech professional faced another Roland Garros semifinalist in the form of Nadia Podoroska. Muchova won the first set 6-3, only for Podoroska to bagel her in the second. The Czech eventually quashed the Argentine's challenge in the third set, 6-3.
Since then, Muchova has been flawless. She defeated 27th seed Irina Camelia-Begu (third round), Elina Avanesyan (fourth round), and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (quarterfinal) in straight sets.
Karolina Muchova has shown her quality in Grand Slams before, making the semifinals of the 2021 Australian Open and the quarterfinal of the Wimbledon Championships in 2019 and 2021.