Wimbledon, July 10: Jelena Ostapenko reached her first Wimbledon semi-final with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Dominika Cibulkova on Tuesday (July 10).
Serena Williams, meanwhile, survived the toughest test of her campaign so far as she came from a set down to beat Camila Giorgi and reach the semi-finals.
Williams' seemingly inevitable march to the final of a women's singles tournament in which none of the top 10 seeds remain continued at pace against Evgeniya Rodina as she eased into the last eight, but the seven-time Wimbledon champion needed to use much more of her reserves against Giorgi.
The #Wimbledon ladies' semi-finals are set.@serenawilliams vs @juliagoerges @AngeliqueKerber vs @JelenaOstapenk8
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
Who do you see reaching the final? pic.twitter.com/1PBXxwceFv
The Italian's comments ahead of the match that she does not follow tennis will have raised eyebrows but, competing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final, she troubled Williams significantly with her movement and power and took the first set.
However, a huge missed opportunity to break in the second proved the turning point and Williams hit the accelerator, outgunning Giorgi in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph that edges her closer to the final and a record-tying 24th slam. Julia Goerges will be the next to try to end her hopes.
When you need a helping hand, @serenawilliams knows what to do 🤳#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/RufDY6jIbX
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion who's previous best at the All England Club was the quarter-finals last year, remained on course to land her second Grand Slam title thanks to a relatively comfortable win on No 1 Court.
Ostapenko will now face Angelique Kerber in the last four, following a straight-sets victory for the German against Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 7-5.
The moment @AngeliqueKerber went one step closer to a first #Wimbledon title... pic.twitter.com/9PFcNj8mpt
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
After making a break in the opening game, Ostapenko fell behind as Cibulkova battled back to fuel her own hopes of progressing beyond the quarter-finals for the first time.
A delightful drop shot saw the Latvian bring the set back on serve, however, before a backhand winner down the line delivered a break that left her to successfully serve for a 1-0 lead.
Into the semi-finals without dropping a set…
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2018
Is a second Grand Slam title on the horizon for @JelenaOstapenk8?⁰⁰#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/UJ0nCMd6do
Cibulkova - fresh from dropping a set for the first time in this year's tournament - struggled on her own serve in the second and, trailing by two breaks to one, showed tremendous resolve to battle back from 0-30 down to hold for 4-3.
But Ostapenko won the next game to love to move one away and, after another challenging hold for the Slovakian, a backhand winner wrapped up a maiden victory over Cibulkova for the 12th seed.
Kasatkina gave another demonstration of her immense natural talent, but the 21-year-old made 31 unforced errors and double-faulted seven times as she lacked composure at key moments in an entertaining quarter-final.
Kerber, runner-up at the All England Club during a 2016 season in which she claimed both of her major titles, eventually ended the Russian's resistance after she saved six match points.
The German had a little too much nous for the unpredictable Kasatkina and will try to grab her first Wimbledon title.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN Ostapenko [12] bt Cibulkova 7-5, 6-4
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Ostapenko – 32/28 Cibulkova – 6/13
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Ostapenko – 5/3 Cibulkova – 1/5
BREAK POINTS WON Ostapenko – 5/11 Cibulkova - 3/3
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Ostapenko - 55 Cibulkova - 58
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Ostapenko – 66/58 Cibulkova – 67/27
TOTAL POINTS Ostapenko – 70 Cibulkova - 56
Source: OPTA
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