Wimbledon: Aryna Sabalenka beats Laura Siegemund in thriller as world No 1 clinches semi-final spot

08.07.2025, 19:25 skysports.com

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka came back from a set down to beat Laura Siegemund 4-6 6-2 6-4 in a quarter-final thriller lasting two hours and 54 minutes, booking a semi-final spot at Wimbledon for the third time.

In a Centre Court scorcher, with another heatwave approaching in the capital to conclude the tournament, Sabalenka was given the runaround - particularly early on - as she struggled to deal with Siegemund's impressive touch play.

The unseeded German, who had already disposed of sixth seed Madison Keys and 29th ranked Leylah Fernandez in earlier rounds, broke Sabalenka in her opening two service games en route to taking the first set.

Siegemund's skill and precision with the drop shot, in particular, caught the eye on numerous occasions, though her serve started to let her down as the match wore on.

Having served two double faults to give back one of her two breaks when serving for the first set, further doubles contributed to a couple more breaks of Siegemund in the second - one sparking a Sabalenka comeback from 40-0 down to take a 4-2 lead.

When Sabalenka broke for a second-straight game, and for the third time in the set to force a decider, it appeared the momentum was firmly moving in the top seed's favour, only for Siegemund to again up her level, breaking to love for a 2-1 advantage early in the third.

Another double-fault, when up 30-15, would lead to her dropping a further service game, only for Sabalenka to send down her own costly double when holding the advantage as she handed the break straight back.

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A ridiculous rally at deuce on Siegemund's subsequent service game - some sliced returns from both players struck to perfection inches over the net - went Sabalenka's way for a break-back point.

The German would save that one but not a second, and from there Sabalenka would close out the contest, breaking Siegemund once more to wrap up victory with her second match point.

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