World No. 1s Sinner and Sabalenka survive close shaves; Italian gets walkover into quarters after losing two sets, while Belarusian rallies from a set down to enter semis
Jannik Sinner during his match vs Grigor Dimitrov on Monday; (right) Aryna Sabalenka battles against Laura Siegemund yesterday. Pics/Getty Images
Women’s World No. 1 Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock Wimbledon exit to reach the semi-finals with a gutsy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win against Germany’s Laura Siegemund on Tuesday.
Siegemund starts strong
Sabalenka twice trailed by a break in the final set to her 104th-ranked opponent on Centre Court and was two games away from crashing out before staging a dramatic revival to win in two hours and 54 minutes of unrelenting tension. The 27-year-old top seed is through to the All England Club semi-finals for the third time.
Meanwhile, Sinner’s progress to the quarter-finals came down to luck more than anything else as his Bulgarian opponent Dimitrov succumbed to an injury after clinching the first two sets, to put the Italian World No. 1 on the cusp of a shock ouster.
Sinner, who himself had a nasty fall in the opening game and hurt his right elbow, was unable to cope with the World No. 19’s varied style, trailing 3-6, 5-7, 2-2. However, Dimitrov, 34, pulled his right pectoral muscle just after serving an ace in the third set and was unable to continue.
Grigor Dimitrov gets medical attention before retiring on Monday. Pic/AFP
Dimitrov retires
The Bulgarian has now retired in each of his last five Grand Slam appearances. Sinner was honest in his assessment of his own performance, saying, “I don’t take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. He is an incredible player, I think we all saw this today. I hope he has a speedy recovery.”
The Italian will next face USA’s World No. 10 Ben Shelton for a place in the semi-final where he could battle Novak Djokovic.
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