Aryna Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon semi-finals on Tuesday. The Belarusian world number one lost a set for the first time in this tournament against Laura Siegemund but fought her way to victory.
In three of her four previous matches, Sabalenka needed a tiebreak, but she was always assured of a place in the next round in two sets. Against Siegemund, who had also not lost a set, she had to dig deep for the first time.
Siegemund (WTA-104) had the tennis fans on center court on the edge of their seats by taking a 0-3 lead in the first set thanks to two breaks. Sabalenka then played a little better, but could not prevent her first set loss of the tournament.
In the second set, she convincingly put things in order, but in the decisive set, she fell behind again by a break. She fought back again and decided the match on her second match point.
Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon twice before, but has never been in the final. Siegemund had never made it past the second round and only reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros.
Opponent in semi-final not yet known
In the semi-finals, the top-seeded Sabalenka will face the winner of the quarter-final between American Amanda Anisimova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova from Russia. They will play each other later on Tuesday.
A semi-final spot for Anisimova would be a success for Dutch coach Rick Vleeshouwers. Under his guidance, the now 23-year-old tennis player seems to be slowly returning to the top.
Anisimova was already in the semi-finals of Roland Garros at the age of seventeen, but lost the joy of tennis. With the help of Vleeshouwers, she found her way up and may celebrate a new highlight with a semi-final spot at Wimbledon.