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Swiatek survives big scare as Svitolina and Pegula advance

tennis09 July 2023 20:32| © Reuters
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Iga Swiatek © Getty Images

World number one Iga Swiatek lived to fight another day after clawing her way back from a set down and saving two match points before beating Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal.

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The 14th-seeded Swiss proved a frustrating obstacle for Swiatek, with the four-time Grand Slam champion struggling to master her opponent for the majority of what proved an intriguing tussle on Centre Court.

As the evening gloom set in, Swiatek eventually got a handle on her opponent's game, moving clear in the final set before wrapping up victory after more than three hours of compelling twists and turns.

Bencic had been stubborn in her resistance in the opening set, saving six break points before taking it on a tiebreak and then fighting back after falling behind in the second.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek saved two match points at 5-6 in the second set and then levelled the contest in another tiebreak.

Swiatek, who arrived at the All England Club having won her third French Open title last month, had never reached the last eight at Wimbledon in her previous three attempts and will next face either Victoria Azarenka or Elina Svitolina.

SVITOLINA COMES OUT TOP IN BATTLE OF THE MUMS WITH AZARENKA

It turned out to be the mother of all battles and Victoria Azarenka produced some telling blows in an electrifying contest but in the end she lacked the chutzpah to prevent Elina Svitolina from securing a place in the quarterfinals.

Sunday's 2-6 6-4 7-6(9) win handed the Ukrainian wildcard a first victory over Azarenka -- the duo being the last two mums left standing out of the six who started in the singles draw -- as she snapped a five-match losing run against the Belarusian.

After soaking up all the tension for close to three hours, world number 76 Svitolina finally toppled 19th seed Azarenka with an ace on her second match point and promptly collapsed onto her back in her moment of triumph.

She will next face Poland's world number one Swiatek for a place in the semifinals.

"It's really a shame that one of these players had to lose. They left it all on the court," nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova concluded while commentating.

"In the end Svitolina played the braver tennis, particularly in the closing stages."

The Ukrainian summed up her achievement by saying: "After giving birth, this is the second happiest moment in my life."

Svitolina frustrated Azarenka for over 11 minutes in the fourth game of the match which dragged on for five deuces, with the Ukrainian missing a break point chance in the process.

Two games later the pair went toe-to-toe in a ferocious 25-shot baseline exchange that drew a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the enthralled Court One crowd which only ended when Svitolina overcooked a forehand.

Even though the records will show the Belarusian romped through the first set by breaking twice, those in attendance will know that the scoreline failed to illustrate just how much drama was packed into those first 41 minutes of the contest.

TENSE ENCOUNTER

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow using Belarus as a staging ground for what it calls a "special military operation", players from both countries have been blanked by Svitolina and her compatriots at tournaments.

That backdrop added another layer of tension to the match as the players faced off for the sixth time in their careers.

Azarenka may have thought she was on the home stretch when she opened up a 2-0 lead in the second set but two games later Svitolina finally punched a hole through her opponent's rock solid serve to break for the first time.

With the bludgeoning blows flying off Svitolina's racket thick and fast, Azarenka had to rely on her nerves of steel to fend off four break points in the eighth game that ebbed and flowed for over 11 electrifying minutes.

All the while it appeared that Svitolina had locked in to win the set and, after letting out an anguished cry when she missed her first set point by misfiring into the sky, she brought the hollering crowd to their feet by finishing off a 26-stroke rally with a thunderous forehand winner.

Seconds later she had levelled the contest after Azarenka swiped a forehand long to surrender her serve.

Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April following the birth of her daughter Skai last October, appeared to be on a roll when she opened up a 3-0 lead in the third.

But Azarenka kept her eyes on the ball and watched it bounce on the net three times in the fifth game before it trickled to her side of the net and she tapped it over to break back.

With both players refusing to blink, the contest headed for a match tiebreak won by Svitolina, who could not hold back the tears as she gave her war-ravaged homeland something to cheer.

"Back home there are lots of people watching and cheering for me and I know how much this means to them," she said.

While the crowd saluted Svitolina with a standing ovation, Azarenka was bemused as she left the court to a chorus of boos.

DAZZLING PEGULA DESTOYS TSURENKO

Jessica Pegula enjoyed one of those scarcely believable days at Wimbledon as her racket oozed winners left, right and centre in a 6-1 6-3 fourth-round destruction of luckless Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.

Tsurenko was left slapping her thighs and talking animatedly into her racket but no matter what she tried, it seemed like her game had slipped into a terminal coma.

Pegula took full advantage of her opponent's woes as she walloped thunderous winners from the baseline to streak into a 5-0 lead in 18 blinding minutes.

Perhaps still feeling the effects of the mammoth effort she put into overcoming Ana Bogdan in the previous round, when Tsurenko won the longest women’s singles tiebreak (20-18 in the third set) at a slam in the Open Era, the Ukrainian could do little to stop the on-fire Pegula's charge.

Tsurenko was lucky not to be completely wiped out from the opening set as the American fourth seed missed a set point in the sixth game.

That blip allowed Tsurenko to finally get a look-in as she registered her name on the scoreboard, earning her a round of sympathetic applause from the Court One crowd.

That respite, however, was brief as Pegula went on another three-game winning spree to take a 6-1 2-0 lead.

The mounting errors from Tsurenko left her trailing 5-1 in the second set too and while she managed to break Pegula when the American was serving for a place in the quarterfinals two games later, it seemed her body had faced enough punishment for the day.

After saving two match points, the 34-year-old winced in pain on the baseline and wasted little time in removing her right shoe and sock, revealing a bloody underfoot blister.

The on-court intervention from the trainer only delayed the inevitable as two points later Pegula was celebrating with a clenched fist as she booked a last-eight showdown with Marketa Vondrousova.

VONDROUSOVA SHRUGS OFF SLOW START

Marketa Vondrousova recovered from an error-strewn start to seal a quarterfinal berth with a 2-6 6-4 6-3 victory over Marie Bouzkova in their all-Czech clash.

Vondrousova looked uncomfortable throughout the contest, committing 44 unforced errors, but held her nerve to grind out a win despite dropping the first set.

"It was a very tough match. We played a long match, and we know each other from the very young age, so it was very tough also mentally," Vondrousova told reporters.

"I'm just very happy that I stayed in the match and I stayed focused. I just wanted to stay in the match and be more active and going for the volleys and everything."

Bouzkova started well, winning four straight games en route to a 5-1 lead in the opening set as several of Vondrousova's errant shots found the net.

The 32nd seed stumbled while serving for the set, allowing Vondrousova to reclaim a break, but she broke back immediately to seal the opener.

Vondrousova launched her comeback in the second set as she produced some deft drop shots and bravely approached the net to claim two breaks and force a decider.

With her confidence restored, she made no mistake as she moved 4-3 ahead and then wrapped up victory with another break.

"I didn't get many wins on grass before. Now I'm in a quarterfinals, so I wasn't expecting that," said Vondrousova, who had failed to progress past Wimbledon's second round in four previous attempts as a singles player.

"I talked with my coaches before and they told me 'You have the game for it'. I think you just have to believe it, you know, be open-minded and just work for it."

RUSSIAN TEENAGER ANDREEVA REACHES SECOND WEEK

Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva, playing in her first senior grasscourt tournament at the age of 16, upset her compatriot and 22nd seed Anastasia Potapova 6-2 7-5 to reach the fourth round.

Andreeva, who had to come through qualifying, was playing her sixth match of the tournament but looked fresh and composed on Court Three and produced some stunning strokes to down her seasoned 22-year-old opponent.

The teenager, ranked 102 in the world, caught the eye when she reached the third round at her first Grand Slam at the French Open last month and has now gone one better.

She took the first set on Sunday in half an hour before Potapova had time to settle, with a rare move to the net and a volley winner.

Potapova found some range and consistency at the start of the second set and broke twice to lead 4-1 but Andreeva discovered new reserves of energy and fight and took three games in a row.

A clearly frustrated Potapova then needed to defend seven break points in an exhausting game lasting almost 10 minutes.

But Andreeva was undeterred and continued to show remarkable maturity and calm. She broke serve for 6-5 and triumphed after an hour and 35 minutes when Potapova dumped a lob into the net.

Andreeva will play American Madison Keys, the 25th seed, in the fourth round.

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