Sabalenka survives Siegemund spell to reach Wimbledon semi against Anisimova
The Belarusian needed all her powers of ball bludgeoning and belief to emerge from a befuddling battle, somehow the victor, 4-6 6-2 6-4.
For much of the spellbinding contest it looked as though the world number one would find no answers to Siegemund's sorcery as the 37-year-old German veteran chipped, chopped and drop-shotted the world's best player to pieces, leaving the top seed's power game neutered on the turf.
Ranked a lowly 104 in the world, Siegemund drew on the game of a gentler age to bring low the mighty Belarusian, casting spells of slice and sleight with vintage flair.
But slowly, if not exactly surely, the 10 years younger and seemingly stronger Sabalenka managed to wrestle back the upper hand, and now plays American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, for a place in Saturday's final.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
12 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Djokovic sets up Sinner showdown, Swiatek reaches first Wimbledon semi
Novak Djokovic's pursuit of yet more career milestones continued unabated as he reached a record 14th Wimbledon semifinal and a showdown with world number one Jannik Sinner on Wednesday. The 38-year-old Serb recovered from a set down to beat Flavio Cobolli 6-7(6) 6-2 7-5 6-4 and is now only two victories away from an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. Blocking his path next is a rather more formidable Italian in the form of Sinner who eased any worries about an elbow injury to beat American powerhouse Ben Shelton 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4. In the women's quarterfinals, Poland's clay court specialist Iga Swiatek broke new ground by reaching her first Wimbledon semifinal, beating Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5. The eighth seed will face Switzerland's unseeded Belinda Bencic who edged out Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3) 7-6(2) to also reach her first semifinal at the grass court slam. "Thank you for cheering for my age" 😅 It's a 14th #Wimbledon semi-final for Novak Djokovic - the most of any player in the history of the Gentlemen's Singles draw 👏 He's not done just yet 😁 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2025 By reaching a record-extending 52nd Grand Slam semi, Djokovic also kept alive his hopes of equalling Roger Federer's men's record eight Wimbledon singles titles. It remains a tall order even for a player widely regarded as the greatest of all time, especially with top seed Sinner and Spain's holder Carlos Alcaraz, the two new powers in men's tennis, most people's bet to contest the final on July 13. But no-one should be writing off Djokovic who has won 44 of his last 46 matches at the All England Club and seems to know every single blade of grass on the historic Centre Court. 'It means the world to me that at 38 I am able to play in the final stages of Wimbledon,' Djokovic, who suffered a nasty slip on match point but appeared unscathed, said. 'Competing with youngsters makes me feel young, like Cobolli today. I enjoy running and sliding around the court. Speaking of the young guys, I will have Sinner in the next round so I look forward to that. That is going to be a great matchup.' Sinner may well have been back home in Italy had Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov not damaged his right pectoral muscle and retired with a two-set lead in the fourth round on Monday. "It's the most special tournament we have." Jannik Sinner is thrilled to be in another #Wimbledon SF 👏 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2025 The three-times Grand Slam champion also sustained an elbow injury early on in that match and there was some doubt about his physical state ahead of his clash with 10th seed Shelton. But he produced a clinical performance, reeling off seven successive points to win the first-set tiebreak and then pouncing in the 10th game of the next two sets to match his run to the semifinal two years ago when he lost to Djokovic. Sinner, bidding to become the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles title, wore a protective sleeve on his right arm but was rock solid against the big-serving Shelton. 'I had quite good feelings in the warm-up today,' Sinner, who dropped only six points on his first serve, said. 'I put into my mind that I'm going to play today. So the concerns were not that big if I would play or not. 'It was just a matter of what my percentage is. Today was very high, so I'm happy.' "It's a dream come true" 🥹 Belinda Bencic reaches just her second Grand Slam semi-final after defeating Mirra Andreeva - and she doesn't quite have the words to express how much it means! ♥️ #Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2025 Swiatek appears to have finally overcome her grass court demons and the four-times French Open champion could not hide her delight at reaching the semifinal at the sixth attempt. 'Honestly, it feels great. I have goosebumps after this win. I am super happy and super proud of myself and I will keep going. I worked really hard to progress here on this surface.' Former Olympic champion Bencic became the first Swiss woman to reach the semis since Martina Hingis in 1998 after stunning 18-year-old seventh seed Andreeva on Centre Court. 'It's crazy, it's unbelievable. It's a dream come true,' the 28-year-old mother said. 'I'm just speechless.' Bencic will face Swiatek on Thursday after top seed Aryna Sabalenka takes on 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova. The first silverware of this year's tournament will also be decided on Thursday when Dutchman Sem Verbeek and Czech Katerina Siniakova face Britain's Joe Salisbury and Brazil's Luisa Stefani in the mixed doubles final on Centre Court.
The South African
a day ago
- The South African
Johannesburg-born Brit routed by Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon
Carlos Alcaraz swept into the Wimbledon semi-finals for a third successive year as the defending champion demolished Britain's Cameron Norrie in a Centre Court masterclass on Tuesday. Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to thrash Johannesburg-born Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year's tournament. The Spanish second seed dropped four sets in a series of scrappy displays during his run to the last eight. But Alcaraz was back to his imperious best in the quarter-finals, blasting 39 winners to set up a last four clash with American fifth seed Taylor Fritz. 'To be able to play another semi-final here at Wimbledon is super-special,' Alcaraz said. It's going to be great. I'm really happy with the way I played against a really difficult player,' he added. With world number one Jannik Sinner struggling with an elbow injury after trailing by two sets in the fourth round before his opponent Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire, Alcaraz looks like the title favourite heading into the closing stages of the tournament. Alcaraz is on a career-best 23 match winning run since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April – a superb streak which has brought him titles at the French Open, the Rome Masters and Monte Carlo. The Spaniard, who vanquished Novak Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, has won 34 of his 37 Tour-level matches on grass, while his last defeat at the All England Club came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. 'Taylor is playing great. The grass season has been really successful for him so far with two titles and a semi-final here,' Alcaraz said. 'I have to be ready for that battle. I will try to play the same level as today. 'I will rest up a little bit and enjoy the time with my team and my family. For sure I'm going to play some golf to switch off my mind a little bit,' he added. Alcaraz is only the second Spanish man to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals on at least three occasions after Rafael Nadal, who made eight appearances in the last four. The five-time Grand Slam champion is aiming to become the fifth man to win Wimbledon in three consecutive years in the Open era afer Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic. Alcaraz, who will be making his eighth Grand Slam semi-final appearance, is also bidding to become the second-youngest player in the Open era, after Borg, to win six major men's singles titles. Alcaraz wasted little time asserting his dominance with breaks in the third and fifth games of a one-sided opening set. The 22-year-old was equally commanding in the second set as the world number 61 struggled to stem the tide. Alcaraz was in total control and the third set followed the same pattern, with the decisive break coming in the sixth game as he sealed his victory in ruthless fashion. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news. By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Sabalenka survives Siegemund spell to reach Wimbledon semi against Anisimova
Aryna Sabalenka was dragged into a bygone era on Tuesday and tormented for almost three hours on Wimbledon's Centre Court before finally imposing her 21st-century power game to beat mesmeric Laura Siegemund for a place in the semifinals. The Belarusian needed all her powers of ball bludgeoning and belief to emerge from a befuddling battle, somehow the victor, 4-6 6-2 6-4. For much of the spellbinding contest it looked as though the world number one would find no answers to Siegemund's sorcery as the 37-year-old German veteran chipped, chopped and drop-shotted the world's best player to pieces, leaving the top seed's power game neutered on the turf. Ranked a lowly 104 in the world, Siegemund drew on the game of a gentler age to bring low the mighty Belarusian, casting spells of slice and sleight with vintage flair. But slowly, if not exactly surely, the 10 years younger and seemingly stronger Sabalenka managed to wrestle back the upper hand, and now plays American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, for a place in Saturday's final.
