The match lasted 1 hour and 33 minutes. Svitolina recorded 4 aces, made 4 double faults, and converted 2 out of 7 break points. This was the sixth meeting between the players, and the Ukrainian suffered her fifth defeat in their head-to-head history, reports the Baltimore Chronicle.
It was Svitolina’s first appearance in the semifinals of the Madrid tournament; previously, she had never advanced beyond the second round. On her way to the semifinals, she defeated Sonay Kartal, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari, and Moyuka Uchijima.
The loss to Sabalenka ended Svitolina’s 11-match winning streak, which included two victories in the Billie Jean King Cup and a title win at the WTA 250 tournament in Rouen. This was the second-longest winning streak in her career, trailing only a 12-match run in 2013.
In the tournament final, Aryna Sabalenka will face American Coco Gauff, who defeated Iga Świątek 6–1, 6–1 in the other semifinal.
Earlier we wrote that Svitolina advances to WTA 1000 semifinals in Madrid.