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.
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