Can Aryna Sabalenka Overcome Laura Siegemund to Face Anisimova in Semifinals?

London, July 8 (NationPress) World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka faced a formidable challenge from Germany's Laura Siegemund and emerged victorious to secure her spot in the women's singles semifinals of Wimbledon 2025 at the All-England Club on Tuesday.

After dropping the first set, Sabalenka rallied back to claim the quarterfinal match with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in nearly three hours. This victory sets her up for a semifinal showdown against the young talent Amanda Anisimova, who advanced by defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6(9) in her quarterfinal encounter.

The match garnered attention as Siegemund had previously caused a significant upset in the third round.

At 37 years old, Siegemund made history by becoming the oldest first-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in the Open era, having previously eliminated Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Throughout her matches leading up to this stage, she had not conceded more than six games.

In a critical moment, Siegemund managed to neutralize Sabalenka's powerful game, but ultimately, Sabalenka proved too strong, regrouping in the second and third sets to secure her victory.

"After losing the first set, I glanced at my box and thought, ‘book the tickets – we might be leaving this beautiful place’,” Sabalenka remarked, adding, "She played an incredible tournament.

“Her strategy is exceptionally smart. She forces every opponent to earn their points, regardless of whether they are big hitters. I didn’t want her to sense my frustration, even though I felt it a bit. I aimed to keep that energy away from her,” explained the current World No.1.

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon on No. 1 Court, No. 13 seed Anisimova wasted no time, breaking Pavlyuchenkova's serve with a powerful forehand just three minutes into the match. She dominated early, winning six of the first seven games in less than half an hour. Anisimova has now won 28 consecutive matches this year when she wins the first set.

Pavlyuchenkova struggled with her serve in the first set, accumulating three double faults and failing to convert on her second serve.

In the second set, Anisimova broke serve in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. However, serving for the match at 5-3, she faced a challenge when Pavlyuchenkova converted her third break point.

Pavlyuchenkova saved two match points to tie the match at 5-5, and then recovered from a 0-30 deficit at 6-5 to force a tiebreak. During the tiebreak, Anisimova saved four set points before converting her second match point with a serve that Pavlyuchenkova couldn’t return.

Anisimova finished with an impressive 26 winners, significantly outpacing Pavlyuchenkova by 17. This victory marks her fourth win over Pavlyuchenkova, and her record on grass this season stands at 11-2, a personal best.

This result matches her best performance at a major tournament from six years ago, indicating her remarkable progress.