Swiatek Set to Clash with Bencic in Wimbledon Semi-Final

LONDON: Iga Swiatek, the Polish eighth seed, showcased a commanding performance, securing a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Liudmila Samsonova on Court One this Wednesday. This win propels her into the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in her career.

After previous struggles on grass, Swiatek demonstrated newfound prowess as she vies for her first Wimbledon title.

At 2-2 in the opening set, Swiatek gained momentum, stringing together four consecutive games to clinch the set.

Samsonova, the 19th seed, countered by breaking Swiatek’s serve twice, leveling the second set at 4-4.

However, Swiatek responded with a powerful service return winner, sealing the match and completing her set of semi-final appearances at all four major tournaments.

In the semi-final, Swiatek is slated to compete against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic. Bencic secured her spot by winning two tiebreaks against Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva with a score of 7-6(3), 7-6(2), earning her a chance to compete in Saturday’s final.

Bencic capitalized on her first of four match points to claim the second tie-break, making her the first female semi-finalist from her country since Martina Hingis in 1998.

Andreeva, 18, delivered four aces in the first set, while Bencic had none. The match remained closely contested until the Russian player made a couple of errors in the tie-break.

Bencic secured two break points at 4-4 in the second set. Andreeva saved one but then trailed 5-4, leaving Bencic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, to serve for a spot in the final four. Andreeva then broke straight back to level the score at 5-5 before reaching 6-5, at which point the 28-year-old Bencic served to force another tie-break.