Wimbledon 2025 Women’s Day 10

Iga Swiatek broke through to set up a battle of first-time Wimbledon semi-finalists  posting a 6-2, 7-5 defeat of Liudmila Samsonova on Wednesday and lining up to take on Belinda Bencic.

The Swiss who became a mother 15 months ago, defeated teenaged talent Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) to claim her own debut final four spot at the All England club.

Five-time grand Slam champion Swiatek owns four clay titles at Roland Garros and has now surpassed her quarter-final here two years ago.

She led Samsonova a set and 3-0 before needing to fight to hold onto her margin; swiatek won seven straight games before her opponent stopped the rot for 1-3 in the second.

The former world No. 1 saved eight of 10 break points and got the last word on Court No. 1 as she broke in the final game to secure victory with a return winner after nearly two hours.

Swiatek said that her appreciation of grass is growing with each victory as she breaks new ground on the surface.

“It feels great, I’m getting goosebumps,” the winner said. “I’m super happy and proud of myself/ I want to keep going.”

Swiatek, a former Wimbledon junior champion, said her preparation is paying off.

“I’m enjoying grass this year, hopefully I can keep this up as long as possible. We worked hard to prepare on this surface, I feel I can work with it.”

Bencic became the first Swiss to get this far here since Martina Navratilova in 1997 as she out-hit Andreeva in their tight quarter-final.

The Swiss served for victory but was broken, though she doubled down to earn victory in a second tiebreaker with an overhead winner at the net.

From a ranking of near 500 at the start of this comeback season, Bencic will return to the top 20 as a result of her success here.

Her only other Grand Slam semi came at the US Open six years ago.

“We made a game plan and it worked out well,” the winner said. “Two tiebreaks were not easy  but there was a small edge for me.

“At some point your instincts kick in, you have to put pressure on your opponent.

“I’m just happy I won today. To be in the semi-finals is unbelievable, a dream come true. I tried not to think about it at match point.”

Bencic added: “I’m very proud of my return, we’ve worked so hard on it. To play this great is amazing, I’m speechless.

“I’m just happy to be playing again.”

Main photo:- Iga Swiatek celebrates quarter final win – by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos