- Top seed Sabalenka came from a set down to beat Siegemund 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Sabalenka admitted she needed to ‘cool down and recover’ after her victory
- The tournament favourite overcame her frustrations to battle back to triumph
Aryna Sabalenka admitted she had mentally booked her plane home before squeaking through against rank outsider Laura Siegemund.
The world No1 lost the first set and trailed 3-1 in the decider before eventually coming through the quarter-final 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
‘She pushed me so much,’ said the 27-year-old Belarusian. ‘After the first set I was looking at my box like, “We need to book the tickets, we’re leaving this beautiful place”.’
After 37-year-old German Tatjana Maria forehand-sliced her way through a forest of big hitters to win the Queen’s Club title last month, 37-year-old German Siegemund almost chopped down the grandest oak of them.
The world No 104 rained down drop shots and Sabalenka’s lack of poise and feel around the net was exposed. She returned and served poorly too – but she kept her cool.
It is not just the variety of Siegemund’s game which is maddening. She is seen as a dark artist in the locker room and here she was delaying before Sabalenka’s serve – not ‘playing to the speed of the server’ as per the rules – and took a seven-minute loo break after the second set.
Aryna Sabalenka battled back to beat Laura Siegemund to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals
Sabalenka’s frustrations were on show as Siegemund threatened to cause a major upset
Siegemund took the opening set and lead in the decider, but ultimately came up narrowly short
‘I was trying to focus on myself and make sure I don’t give her that energy,’ said Sabalenka. ‘I didn’t want her to see I was annoyed by her even if I was a little bit at some points.’
Sabalenka will not face many slice forehands in her semi-final against Amanda Anismiova, but she will face a woman who has won five of their eight meetings. The 23-year-old American beat Anastasiya Pavlyuchenko 6-1, 7-6.
Share or comment on this article:
Aryna Sabalenka survives the Wimbledon heat: World No 1 into semi-finals with rollercoaster comeback to beat Laura Siegemund, 37, despite 23C temperatures