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Russian-born Rybakina to face Halep in Wimbledon semifinal

July 07, 2022 00:00:00


Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrating after winning against Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match on the tenth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Wednesday — AFP

LONDON, July 06 (AFP): Russian-born Elena Rybakina became the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach a Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon on Wednesday when she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets.

Rybakina came through 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and will face 2019 champion Simona Halep for a place in Saturday's women's final.

The 23-year-old switched nationality in 2018 while this year Russian and Belarusian players are banned from Wimbledon following the invasion of Ukraine.

"It is amazing. I am really happy to be into the semi-final. It was a really tough match," said the 23-year-old Moscow-born player. "I started a bit slow, I didn't serve that well.

"Maybe I was nervous. She played really well and was defending really good but I just tried to focus on my serve and try to find my way and in the end I found it."

Rybakina switched nationality in 2018. This year Russian and Belarusian players are banned from Wimbledon following the invasion of Ukraine.

Rybakina fired five aces in the first set but her 10 winners were cancelled out by her 10 unforced errors.

The steadier Tomljanovic did not concede a break point while a single break in the third game was enough to hand her the opener.

Back came Moscow-born Rybakina with a triple break in the second set to level the tie.

She swept through the decider and despite being broken when serving for the match in the seventh game, she made no mistake in the ninth with another ace sealing the win.

Meanwhile, former champion Simona Halep eased past Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4 to reach her third Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday without dropping a set in the tournament so far.

The Romanian 16th seed, who won the title in 2019, broke the American's serve four times in the match, wrapping up victory in just over an hour.

Halep said she was playing her best tennis since she won her second Grand Slam at the All England Club three years ago.

"Definitely this is my best tennis," she said. "I am trying to build my confidence back, and it's good."

"It's great to be back in the semi-finals," added the former world number one. "I'm very emotional right now. It means a lot."

The 30-year-old took charge early in the match on Centre Court, racing into a 5-1 lead and taking the set 6-2.

It was a similar tale in the second set, with Halep again dominating and going 5-1 up with a double break.

Anisimova dug deep, earning her own break of serve when Halep served for the match but the Romanian stayed calm to serve out for the win.


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