Dinara Safina suggests what Aryna Sabalenka may have ‘realised’ during her quarterfinal win at Wimbledon

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Aryna Sabalenka was far from her best in the quarterfinals, but scraped through to reach the last four.

The Belarusian star had won her opening four matches at Wimbledon in straight sets, defeating Carson Branstine, Marie Bouzkova, Emma Raducanu, and Elise Mertens en route to the quarterfinals.

She would have been forgiven for expecting a fifth convincing win, taking on world number 104 Laura Siegemund in the last eight.

However, what followed was anything but convincing, as Sabalenka narrowly escaped with the win, beating her German opponent 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Reacting to Sabalenka’s latest win, former Russian tennis star Dinara Safina suggested what she may have realised during the match.

Dinara Safina thinks Aryna Sabalenka may have realised she’s passed her toughest test at Wimbledon

Appearing as a guest on Bolshe!, Safina gave her verdict on Sabalenka’s quarterfinal win over Siegemund.

“These matches are necessary to win a Grand Slam. Like it or not, to win a Grand Slam tournament, such matches are necessary,” she said.

“You just can’t do anything, everything falls out of your hands, the opponent is super inconvenient for you, you don’t know how you win it.

“But as you go through this moment, you realise, ‘I’ve already been through everything’.”

Safina then recalled what her brother, Marat Safin, told her at the 2000 US Open, as he faced a tricky test during his second-round match.

“I remember Marat [Safin], when he won the US Open, he told me himself. He had [Gianlucca] Pozzi, an Italian, in the draw,” she said.

“He didn’t like to play him at all. I think he won in a fifth-set tiebreak, [actually 6-4].

“After that, he said, ‘Well, I’ve already beaten him…’”

Safin entered the tournament as the number six seed and defeated Gianlucca Pozzi en route to his first major title.

Safina believes Sabalenka may have had the same realisation after her quarterfinal win as Safin did 25 years ago.

“That’s what you can tell Aryna [Sabalenka],” she said.

“She has Amanda Anisimova next, not an easy match, but the fact that she’s already had a rollercoaster match will help.”

Sabalenka will need to be at her best if she wants to beat Anisimova in the semifinals, having struggled against the American in the past.

Who leads the head-to-head between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova?

Sabalenka and Anisimova have played one another eight times on the WTA Tour, as the American leads their head-to-head 5-3.

It is, however, important to note that the tides do seem to be turning, as Sabalenka has won three of their last four matches.

In fact, Sabalenka has already secured a victory over Anisimova at a Grand Slam in 2025, when she knocked her out of the French Open.

Appearing in her third Wimbledon semifinal, Sabalenka will be hoping to right the wrongs of 2021 and 2023, where she let a one-set lead slip on both occasions.

Anisimova, on the other hand, is competing in her first Wimbledon semifinal and her first semifinal at a Grand Slam since the 2019 French Open.

It’s tough to predict who will emerge victorious, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

Sabalenka and Anisimova will battle it out for a place in the Wimbledon final on Thursday, July 10.