Wimbledon: Swiatek sets up Bencic semifinal; Sinner to play Djokovic for spot in final

Over the last few months, Iga Swiatek has flown largely under the radar. A five-time Major winner, the 24-year-old is no longer the defending champion at any Slam, hasn’t won a Tour-level title since Roland-Garros 2024 and is seeded eighth at Wimbledon.

So much so that the All England Club scheduled three of her five matches this edition outside Centre Court. Hallowed the whole of the Wimbledon Park may be but not every patch of green is as regal and majestic as the one that stands as the centre-piece.

On Wednesday however, unmindful of all this, the Pole sprung back to life and into the worldwide gaze again by reaching her maiden Wimbledon singles semifinal. On a hot, airless, furnace-like afternoon, Swiatek beat 19th seed 
Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 to give herself more than just some breathing room.

For a spot in the final, she will meet on Thursday, Belinda Bencic, 28, who outgunned teenage sensation and seventh-seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Swisswoman is a former top-10 player, Olympic gold medallist (Paris 2020) and mother of a one-year-old. She too will be making a maiden last-four appearance at SW19.

“It honestly feels great and I got goosebumps after this [win],” Swiatek said. “I am happy and proud, and hopefully [this run] will last.”

Despite being a junior champion here in 2018, Swiatek’s challenge on the slick lawns has always been to make her top spin-reliant style work. It has proved tough despite the grass slowing down, the bounce becoming truer and a lot of the surface-specific unpredictability evaporating into thin air because of rising temperatures.

Against Samsonova though, she found a way to win. She played a solid opening set, dictating with her heavy forehand and using her double-fisted backhand to drive through the court. The Russian, of collared tee, upright stance and clean-cut strokes, struggled to keep the ball in as Swiatek took the set 6-2.

In the second, when Swiatek broke to 2-0, it seemed like curtains for the 26-year-old. And when the Pole held to 3-0 – her seventh straight game – after saving four break-points, it appeared as if Samsonova had reached a dead end.

But a slight dip in Swiatek’s level, as she struggled with the depth of her shots, coincided with Samsonova loosening up and breaking back to 2-3. Though the Russian lost serve immediately, she found the energy and mettle to regain her advantage as Swiatek dropped a game from being 40-0 up.

The purple patch, however, didn’t last long as Swiatek came up with two nerveless holds – to 5-4 that finished with a searing deuce-court ace and to 6-5 that was achieved despite falling 0-30 down. Samsonova soon withered under pressure as Swiatek completed the victory with a remarkable return winner.

Jannik Sinner in action against Ben Shelton.
| Photo Credit:
Joanna Chan

Jannik Sinner, who followed Swiatek onto Court No. 1, quelled Ben Shelton’s challenge 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 despite playing with some elaborate bandaging on his right elbow, which he hurt while competing against Grigor Dimitrov.

The Italian World No. 1’s fourth straight Major semifinal will be a repeat of the French Open affair, versus seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who overcame a spirited effort from Flavio Cobolli, another Italian, 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4.

“The concerns were not about whether I would play or not but about what my percentage would be,” Sinner said later. “It was very high, so I’m happy.”