Sabalenka digs deep vs. Siegemund to avoid upset, make Wimbledon semis

LONDON (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka trailed by a set, then twice was down a break in the third before grabbing the last three games to reach the Wimbledon semifinals by overcoming 104th-ranked Laura Siegemund 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 at Centre Court on Tuesday.

“She pushed me so much,” said Sabalenka, No. 1 since last October. “After the first set, I was just looking at my box, thinking, ‘Guys, I mean, book the tickets. I think we’re about to leave this beautiful city, country, place.’”

Sabalenka never has been to a title match at the All England Club, the only Grand Slam tournament where that’s the case. She won the Australian Open twice and the U.S. Open once, and was the runner-up at this year’s Australian Open (losing to Madison Keys) and French Open (losing to Coco Gauff).

The 27-year-old Belarusian lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023.

On Thursday, she gets a third chance in that round. Sabalenka will meet No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova, who beat 50th-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Tuesday's other quarterfinal match.

Sabalenka hadn’t dropped a set during this year’s trip to the grass-court major until Tuesday — but she also hadn’t faced an opponent whose style is quite as an unorthodox as that of the 37-year-old Siegemund.

The German, who eliminated No. 6 Keys last week, was the oldest and by far the lowest-ranked of any woman in the quarterfinals, as well as the one with the fewest career titles (two).

She arrived at Wimbledon with a career record there of 2-5 and with a 4-9 mark on tour in 2025.

But her ability to change the depth, speed, angles and spins of her shots over and over can frustrate any opponent and dull the type of power that Sabalenka brings to the court. And, make no mistake: Sabalenka was frustrated, especially in the final set.

“It's not like it's an annoying game. It’s a smart game. She’s really making everyone work against her,” Sabalenka said. “You know you have to work for every point. It doesn’t matter if you’re a big server, if you're a big hitter. You have to work. You have to run. And you have to earn the win.”

As her mistakes mounted, she would look up at her box with a quizzical expression and raise her hands. After missing one forehand off a short ball, she knelt on the grass near the net.

After getting broken for the sixth time of the afternoon to fall behind 4-3 in the last set, Sabalenka broke right back to open her match-ending run. In the next game, she finally delivered her lone two aces of the match, one at 103 mph, the other at 116 mph.

When Sabalenka produced a volley winner to break again and end things after nearly three hours, she shut her eyes, spread her arms wide and let out a big scream.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis