The Japan Times - Sabalenka targets Wimbledon final as Swiatek showdown looms

The world number one did not drop a set at the All England Club in the first four rounds but had to survive an almighty scare to see off 104th-ranked Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals.

The Belarusian, who struggled to cope with the varied game of her German opponent, was twice a break down in the deciding set before prevailing 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in nearly three hours.

The 27-year-old is bidding to reach her first Wimbledon final when she takes on American 13th seed Anisimova.

Sabalenka won last year's US Open to collect her third major, but suffered agonising defeats in the finals of this year's Australian Open and French Open.

Now she is facing an opponent who has won five of their eight meetings, though Sabalenka came out on top at Roland Garros last month.

Anisimova, who beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the semi-finals, was ranked below 400 when she returned from a mental health sabbatical at the beginning of the 2024 season.

Now the 23-year-old has matched her best-ever Grand Slam singles result, equalling her run to the last four at the 2019 French Open, and next week will jump into the top ten for the first time.

"I definitely think this surface suits her game really well," Sabalenka said. "That's why she's playing so well so far. She's serving well, she's hitting quite clean and heavy shots.

"We just played recently at the French Open. I had to work really hard to get the win. I mean, it's going to be very aggressive tennis, I think."

- Swiatek rivalry -

If Sabalenka beats Anisimova she could face five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek in Saturday's title match.

The Polish former world number one has won eight of their 13 matches, though they have never met on grass, and Sabalenka came out on top in their most recent meeting in the French Open semi-finals.

But first Swiatek, seeded eighth at the All England Club, faces a tricky task on Centre Court against Swiss former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic.

Swiatek has gone under the radar at this year's Wimbledon as most of the other top women's seeds have tumbled, dropping just one set so far.

After slipping down the rankings, she is now back in the world's top four having reached her first ever grass court final at Bad Homburg last month.

Swiatek, who won junior Wimbledon in 2018, said after her quarter-final win against Russia's Liudmila Samsonova that she had worked hard to improve her game on the surface.

"It feels great. Even though I'm in the middle of the tournament I've already got goosebumps after this win. I'm super happy and super proud of myself and I'll keep going," she said.

Bencic returned to action in October, six months after giving birth to her daughter, Bella.

Like Swiatek, the 28-year-old Bencic is a former junior Wimbledon champion.

"I'm very proud. I didn't say it to myself much before but since having Bella I say it to myself every day. It's not only me, I wouldn't be able to do it without my amazing family and team," said the Tokyo Olympic champion.

"We worked so hard on the comeback. We are enjoying life on tour and to play great is a bonus."

On the men's side, seven-time winner Novak Djokovic survived a scare on Wednesday to stay on track for a history-making 25th Grand Slam singles title and will meet top seed Jannik Sinner in Friday's semi-finals.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on US fifth seed Taylor Fritz in the other semi-final.

H.Takahashi--JT