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. Her next opponent is Amanda Anisimova.
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 really 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 set things straight, but in the decisive set she fell behind again with 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 once at Roland Garros.
Anisimova with Dutch coach to semi-finals
In the semi-finals, the top-seeded Sabalenka will face Anisimova (WTA-12). The American won in the quarter-finals against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (WTA-50) from Russia: 6-1 and 7-6 (9).
Anisimova’s semi-final spot is a success for Dutch coach Rick Vleeshouwers. With his help, the 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 in tennis. With the help of Vleeshouwers, she found her way up. The semi-final between Sabalenka and Anisimova is scheduled for Thursday.
