The US Open
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
Alexander Zverev on Thursday made a long-sought after return to the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, booking his first final four at the event since 2019, defeating Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4.
The 2027 year-end No. 1 last got this far as the Covid pandemic began to surface in China in 2019. The event was not played 2020-2022, with the German making modest progress here over the past three editions since resumption.
After winning his 62nd match of the season, the 29-year-old was pleased with his performance.
“I think it was a huge step up. From just being on the court I felt both of us were playing really well.
“I was, a lot of the time, outhitting Alex, which is difficult to do from the baseline because he is so fast and he loves this kind of court speed here.
“I felt good and I’m happy with the step up from the past couple of matches.”
Zverev advanced in 78 minutes, sending over 10 aces as he defeated the Australian for the ninth time in their 13 matches.
Added the reigning Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows Grand Slam champion: “I’ve been handling pressure quite okay this year. In a way you play a bit more relaxed.
“Once Jannik (SInner) unfortunately announced he won’t play for the rest of the year, I’m 4,000 points ahead of everyone else, so I trust myself enough that I’m going to win [enough matches].
Zverev will play for the final to wrap up the Asian swing as he takes on Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who advanced when Arthur Gea quit their quarter-final with injury.
Alexander Zverev will claim world year-end No. 1 honours for the first time on the back of two Grand Slam titles and a final this season.,
The ATP confirmed the changing of the guard as current No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended his season early last week due to a knee injury which has kept him off court since winning Wimbledon three months ago.
Zverev won Roland Garros and US Open trophies and lost to Sinner in the All England Club final.
His reign at the top will begin after the ATP Final in Turin with the ranking period starting on November 23.
Zverev will be 29 years, 217 days old on the date, three days older than Andre Agassi in 1999 (29 years, 214 days).
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev by ISF Ltd
The protagonists from the just-completed China Open will give the WTA Wuhan event a miss, with both Zheng Qinwen and finalist Mirra Andreeva skipping the key Asian date.
Beijing weekend champion Zheng who thrilled a nation with her home title victory, is claiming a right shoulder injury which Andreeva feels “fatigue.”
“I’m very sorry to share that I will be withdrawing from this year’s Wuhan Open,” Zheng said in a statement. “Wuhan is where my tennis dream began, and the Wuhan Open is also where I made my breakthrough at the WTA 1000 level.
“I have always looked forward to competing in front of my hometown fans.
“Since returning from injury, however, I have played a demanding stretch of tennis over the past month and a half, competing at the US Open, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the China Open.
“My body is feeling very fatigued after this intense run of matches. I look forward to returning to the Wuhan Open next year and stepping onto the court in my best possible form!”
Andreeva’s Beijing performance has lifted the teenager into the ranking top 3 for the first time and gives her a shot at the world No. 1 ranking by season’s end next month.
Main photo :-Zheng Quinwen by ISF Ltd
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