Swiatek reaches Wimbledon semis
The Polish eighth seed will face former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic for a place in Saturday's final.
Swiatek has won four titles on the clay at the French Open, as well as the US Open in 2022, but has struggled on the lawns of the All England Club.
Her previous best result at Wimbledon was a run to the quarter-finals in 2023.
Swiatek dominated the first set against 19th seed Samsonova on Court One but was made to battle in the second set before wrapping up victory in one hour and 49 minutes.
'It feels great. Even though I'm in the middle of the tournament I've already got goosebumps after this win. I'm super happy and super proud of myself and I'll keep going,' she said.
'Honestly, I've really enjoyed playing this year and hopefully it's going to last as long as possible.
'For sure I feel like I really worked hard to progress here on this surface.'
Swiatek broke twice in the opening set to take a firm grip on the match, benefiting from a flurry of unforced errors from her opponent and winning 100 percent of her points on first serve.
Two double faults from the Russian 19th seed handed Swiatek an early break in the second set and she snuffed out a clutch of break points in the following game to go 3-0 up.
The 24-year-old was pegged back as her level dipped and Samsonova pulled level at 4-4. But Swiatek regrouped and broke again to seal the win, finishing off her opponent with a fierce forehand winner.
The former world number one has gone under the radar at this year's Wimbledon as most of the other top women's seeds have tumbled, though world number one Aryna Sabalenka is still standing.
After slipping down the rankings, she is now back in the world's top four having reaching the Bad Homburg final on grass last month.
Swiatek, a former Wimbledon junior champion, lost in the semi-finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
7 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
World Athletics Mandates One-Time Gene Test for Female Category Eligibility
World Athletics announced on Wednesday that athletes must undergo a one-time gene test to compete in the female category at elite world ranking competitions, including the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo. Starting September 1, eligibility will require confirmation of the absence of the SRY gene, a marker of biological sex located on the Y chromosome. The test, conducted via cheek swab or blood, will be overseen by national athletics federations and applies to all athletes aiming to compete as female in sanctioned global events. World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the measure aims to uphold 'the integrity of women's sport,' noting that 'gender cannot trump biology' at the elite level. The move comes after a working group determined existing regulations around sex development and transgender eligibility were insufficient. Athletics' governing body already bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from women's events and requires athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD) to medically lower testosterone levels to compete. The new SRY gene requirement adds another layer of enforcement. The rule has drawn parallels with similar moves in boxing and follows ongoing legal challenges, including Olympic champion Caster Semenya's appeal of regulations requiring hormone suppression for DSD athletes. Earlier this month, a European court ruled that Semenya's 2020 appeal had not been fully heard, reopening scrutiny of athletics' sex eligibility policies.
Daily Tribune
19 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Marchand shatters record as US, Australia win more world gold
Leon Marchand smashed the 200m individual medley world record in Singapore yesterday with another breathtaking swim while Australia and the United States celebrated more gold. Racing in the semi-finals at the world championships, the 23-year-old Frenchman wiped more than a second off the previous record of 1:54.00 set by Ryan Lochte in 2011. Marchand beat Michael Phelps's long-standing 400m medley record at the world championships in Japan two years ago. 'Actually I can't believe it right now,' said Marchand, who won four individual golds in front of his home fans at the Paris Olympics a year ago and was the face of the Games. 'I knew I was going to be close to my PB (personal best) because I felt really good today and preparation has been pretty good. 'But 1:52 is unbelievable for me.' Marchand took an extended break from swimming after Paris and only returned to competition in May. He is focusing on the individual medley events in Singapore and had said he was gunning for Lochte's record. Marchand got his world championships campaign under way yesterday morning, clocking a time of 1:57.63 in the heats. He said he would go all-out for the record in the semi-finals rather than conserve his energy for Thursday's final. In yesterday's finals, Tunisia's Ahmed Jaouadi won the 800m freestyle thanks to a perfectly timed attack. Jaouadi made his move midway through the race and eased away to touch the wall in 7min 36.88sec, ahead of German pair Sven Schwarz (7:39.96) and 400m champion Lukas Maertens (7:40.19). Jaouadi, who finished fourth at last year's Paris Olympics, clocked the third-fastest time ever. 'At some point I saw that the rhythm wasn't that fast so I decided to just go and make the move,' said the 20-year-old. Ireland's Olympic champion Daniel Wiffen finished last. Australia's Olympic champion Mollie O'Callaghan was just as emphatic in romping to victory in the women's 200m freestyle in 1:53.48.
Daily Tribune
19 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Gauff survives epic Montreal battle
World number two Coco Gauff battled into the third round of the WTA Canadian Open on Tuesday by outlasting US compatriot Danielle Collins 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2). Gauff won the last six points of the match to capture her opener in her first hardcourt tune-up event on the road to the US Open, which starts on August 24. Top seed Gauff, the reigning French Open champion who also won the 2023 US Open, advanced to a thirdround Montreal match against fifth-ranked Veronika Kudermetova, who eliminated Serbian Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2. 'It was a frustrating match for me just because I felt like I was practicing well and then I don't think I transferred it,' Gauff said. 'But hopefully I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way and I can come back stronger in the next round.' The 21-year-old Gauff, seeking her 11th career WTA title, fired 23 double faults against three aces, but closed out the match with an ace after two hours and 55 minutes. 'It was a tough battle out there,' Gauff said.' Making serves in the court was the toughest challenge. Maybe if I cut that in half it could be a quicker match for me. I thought I was playing well, except for that part of my game.' Gauff converted nine of 16 break chances in her first victory since capturing the title at Roland Garros. 'For me to break her as many times as I did, there are some positives to take from today,' Gauff said. Collins and Gauff exchanged breaks in the first four games before Gauff held and then broke again for a 4-2 lead then held again. But serving for the set, Gauff swatted a crosscourt forehand wide to surrender a break and Collins held to 5-5, only for Gauff to hold then break at love to take the first set in 53 minutes on the fifth of 13 Collins double faults. After trading four breaks in the first six games, Collins broke at love to 4-3 and held twice to force a third set. Collins served for the match leading 6-5 in the final set only for Gauff to break with a backhand crosscourt winner to force a tiebreaker. Gauff fell behind 2-1 but landed an mis-hit lob winner and never dropped another point, Collins hitting a forehand long, double faulting and netting a backhand to 5-2 before Gauff blasted a service winner and ace to end matters. Ito ousts Paolini The day's biggest shocker saw Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito stun Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5). The 21-year-old beat American Katie Volynets in the first round for her first WTA 1000 level triumph then followed with her first victory over a top-10 opponent by rallying from a set and break down to advance after two hours and 27 minutes. World number 110 Ito saved a match point in the 10th game of the second set and outlasted sixth-ranked Paolini to book a third-round match against Spain's 51st-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who defeated American Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 6-4. Ito reached the semi-finals last October at Osaka in her WTA debut and claimed a 125-level title at Canberra in January, but until this week had not won a tour-level match this year. In other matches, DC Open champion Leylah Fernandez dropped her opener on home soil, falling to Australian Maya Joint 6-4, 6-1. Washington runner-up Anna Kalinskaya advances, the Russian beating American Ann Li 7-6 (8/6), 0-6, 6-3.
