Andy Roddick stunned after what Aryna Sabalenka did against Iga Swiatek which was simply ‘unbelievable’

That is, despite entering her favoured tournament having failed to win a trophy since her triumph at these grounds exactly a year earlier.

She showed great resistance in the face of unbelievable adversity, but in the end, Sabalenka’s consistent power and quality proved too much.

Few could possibly have expected the third set would have been as one-sided as it ended, though.

Andy Roddick left stunned by Aryna Sabalenka’s third set vs Iga Swiatek

Speaking on the Quick-Served edition of his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, where he combs over all the action from the previous day, Roddick could not touch on Thursday without lauding Sabalenka.

And, in particular, the way in which she dispatched Swiatek in that conclusive 6-0 third set.

The American stated, almost in disbelief: ‘Zero unforced errors against Iga Swiatek on clay in the semis of Roland Garros in the third set! How about them apples?

‘That is 6-0 in the third, zero unforced errors! It’s not as if she is playing a game where she is one of those people who doesn’t miss or take risks. Zero unforced errors, while also hitting the biggest ball in the world. Unbelievable.

‘I cannot be told that she is not one of two or three people on Earth who are big match players as things stand.

‘You get the feeling that it’s like Masters 1000 semi, I am just going to go and do it. Just hit my shot when I need to. She is unconscious about taking swings right now.

‘Playing these big matches is such a habit for her right now that you don’t even worry about what she is going to do.

‘And this coming from someone who all of us dummies questioned is she mentally tough enough. We are so stupid. That was the narrative four or five years ago, was she mentally tough enough.’

Pundit Rennae Stubbs claimed there were three main reasons why Sabalenka beat Swiatek, but in reality there was so much more at play in this high-quality showdown.

Aryna Sabalenka seeking to diversify her Grand Slam collection

With three Grand Slam titles to her name, few can deny just how imperious the Belarusian has been across the last few years.

However,  if there is any criticism to be levelled at her, it’s that they have all come on the hard courts of New York and Melbourne.

Never before has she reached the final of the French Open or Wimbledon, so this marks a huge first opportunity to diversify her Grand Slam portfolio and prove to the world that she is a genuine all-court threat.

Aryna Sabalenka’s best performance at each Grand Slam

Her success in clay-court Masters 1000 events in the past already seeks to disprove such a notion, but there is nothing more conclusive than winning the Grand Slam on a given surface.

Sabalenka now has just Coco Gauff standing in her way, and with their head-to-head record finely poised at five wins apiece, it honestly could go either way.

Regardless, a high-quality spectacle is almost guaranteed.