Aryna Sabalenka fought through arguably her toughest test at Wimbledon thus far to beat Laura Siegemund in three battling sets.
The 27-year-old came from a set down, and constantly looked under duress as the tricky German continued to bamboozle with her variety.
Her slices were wicked, and her serving was pinpoint, if at times slow. Everything she did troubled Aryna Sabalenka.
And yet, the world number one came through as the victor; the mark of a true champion.
Speaking after the match, she looked back on how recent disappointment in the French Open final actually fuelled such a dramatic Wimbledon triumph today.
Aryna Sabalenka left thankful for losing the French Open final
Chatting with reporters after her hard-fought win, the Belarusian was once again reminded of her defeat in the French Open final last month.
However, having sought to flip the narrative after Sabalenka apologised to Gauff, she is now viewing that loss in a positive light.
This was echoed in her statement, telling the press conference: “Honestly, I think there’s a big possibility I would’ve lost this match if I hadn’t learned that lesson at the French Open.
“And in some moments I kept reminding myself, ‘come on, it’s a quarterfinal of Wimbledon. You cannot give up. You cannot let the emotions take over you and lose another match.’ I was just reminding myself that it’s my dream. Why would I give up so easily? So I have to keep fighting. That’s basically it.
“I kept telling myself that. I was willing to push myself and get those tough points.”
Sabalenka will now face Amanda Anisimova in the semi-final, after she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova earlier today.
Aryna Sabalenka will have a completely different Wimbledon challenge against Amanda Anisimova
Having somehow managed to beat Siegemund, who was slow, disruptive and awkward, Sabalenka will face a completely different challenge next up against Anisimova.
The American is very much the opposite of her previous opponent, perhaps lacking fleet-footedness, but making up for it with thunderous hitting off both wings.
And, crucially, the 23-year-old actually boasts a winning record over Sabalenka, despite the latter having won their most recent meeting at Roland Garros last month.
Anisimova is a hugely talented ball-striker whose game is very well-suited to this surface.
However, so too is Sabalenka’s.
It will be really interesting to see who can gain control of the centre of the court with the cleaner and deeper groundstrokes. After all, that will certainly be the key battle between this duo, who are guaranteed to bring the power to this hotly anticipated Wimbledon semi-final.
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