World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka bulldozed her way into the Wimbledon 2025 women's singles semifinals, fighting off a stubborn Laura Siegemund in an exciting quarterfinal at the All England Club on Tuesday.
Having lost the first set, Sabalenka rallied with conviction to defeat 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a thrilling match that took nearly three hours to complete.
The top seed thus secured a semifinal date with American Amanda Anisimova, who had previously defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets.
Much of the pre-match hype had centered on Siegemund, who had made news as the oldest first-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the Open Era at 37. Her path had involved a sensational third-round defeat of Australian Open winner Madison Keys, and before her match against Sabalenka, she hadn't lost more than six games in a single match.
On Tuesday, Siegemund showed her own individual game plan by easing the pace and pinning Sabalenka with deep rallies. But Sabalenka refused to give up and eventually overwhelmed the German veteran.
"After the first set, I was sitting in my box thinking, 'book the tickets – we're going to leave this lovely place'," Sabalenka smiled after the match. "She played an incredible tournament.". She plays so intelligently. She forces everyone to work for every point. You're either a big hitter or not, but you have to work and run and get the win. I didn't want her to notice I was upset, even though I was somewhat upset. I didn't want to feed her energy.
At the same time on No. 1 Court, 13th seed Amanda Anisimova played a calm and powerful game to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6(9) into her second career Grand Slam semifinal, and her deepest Wimbledon showing to this point.
Anisimova opened the match with a burst, breaking serve in the first game and romping through six of the first seven. Her scorching forehands and crisp ball-striking put Pavlyuchenkova in a panic. The Russian labored behind her second serve, making three double faults and managing to win no point on six second-serve chances in the first set.
The second set witnessed tougher resistance from the 34-year-old Pavlyuchenkova. Anisimova took it 4-2 with yet another break but could not close out the match at 5-3. Pavlyuchenkova resisted bravely, saving two match points and eventually taking it to a tiebreak.
In a thriller breaker, Anisimova saved four set points and eventually wrapped it up on her fourth match point with a serve Pavlyuchenkova was unable to return. The American, 22, finished the match with 26 winners, a total that significantly dwarfed Pavlyuchenkova's nine.
With the victory, Anisimova upgraded her head-to-head against the Russian to 4-0, and her grass-court record on the season to 11-2. She's also taken her string to 28 in a row in first-set victory matches—a statistic that emphasizes her front-runner dominance in 2025.
Read also| FIR Filed Against RCB Pacer Yash Dayal for Alleged Sexual Exploitation
Read also| Ben Stokes’ Form Has Waned Annually in Test Cricket—Atherton Verdict
