Elina Svitolina and Ons Jabeur record historical wins to reach the final four: 2023 Wimbledon Women’s Singles QF Roundup
The women’s singles quarter-final fixtures of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships met with a lot of surprises and unexpected turns. Unseeded professionals defeated the favorites as well as top-seeded players displayed their on-court prowess to get a step ahead. Consequently, the quarter-final matches were full of excitement and awe-inspiring moments as few players attained success while some had to go through agony.
Iga Swiatek vs Elina Svitolina
Elina Svitolina attained blistering praise for her performance in the French Open, earlier this year. However, she managed to do that unthinkable by defeating World No. 1, Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the grass-court Major. Walking towards the centre court, the Pole was surely the favorite to win the match. Svitolina arrived in the last eight with a thrilling win over 19th seed Victoria Azarenka while Swiatek took down Belinda Bencic in a three-set classic to secure a spot in the quarter-final round.
However, as the first set got underway, Svitolina made it evident that capturing a victory against her won’t be easy. Thus, the first set concluded in favor of the Ukrainian (7-5) as Svitolina nearly avoided getting into a tie-break against Swiatek. In the second set, the top seed was desperate to craft a comeback against the Wild Card, but the four-time Roland Garros semi-finalist stood compact against the Pole. Thus, the two ladies forced the second set into a tie-break, which was eventually won by the four-time French Open winner (5-7).
Playing in the decider, Elina Svitolina hammered the World No. 1 with her throbbing serves. Making no errors, the Ukrainian recorded 82% points on her first serve. With exquisite precision in the third set, Svitolina recorded a major win over favorite, Iga Swiatek in the first quarter-final of women’s singles in the 2023 Wimbledon.
The win was extremely special for the 28-year-old as she welcomed her daughter Skai Monfils in 2022 October and in less than a year, she’s displaying top-class tennis in one of the most prestigious tournaments on the tennis calendar. Svitolina will be facing Marketa Vondrousova in the semi-final.
Jessica Pegula vs Marketa Vondrousova
Seeded fourth in Wimbledon, Jessica Pegula took down the likes of Lesia Tsurenko, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Cristina Bucsa, and Lauren Davis to reach the last eight. On the flip side, Marketa Vondrousova, who was unseeded, got the better of Peyton Stearns, Veronika Kudermetova, Donna Vekic, and Marie Bouzkova in her route to the quarter-final.
Thus, Pegula enjoyed a relatively easier draw but still, she was the favorite to win the match. However, zealots got to witness the exact opposite. As the second quarter-final got underway, Vondrousova bamboozled the fourth seed with aces. Pegula was facing difficulties in answering the Czech’s serves.
Nevertheless, after conceding a couple of sets early in the pursuit, the American failed to cover the damage and lost the first set 6-4. Surprisingly, Pegula’s game changed after she came back from a changeover. She started dominating the former World No. 14 but still, she was failing to control her serves and also failed to score even a single ace against Vondrousova.
Vondrousova recorded a blistering win over fourth seed Pegula in the quarter-final
However, the American player successfully captured the second set as the match was forced into a decider. The third started in favor of the Czech but Pegula managed to catch her making the score levelled. However, the 24-year-old elevated her level in the last few games and concluded the match in her favor (6-4, 2-6, 6-4), successfully avoiding a potential tie-break. Consequently, she’ll be facing Svitolina in the semi-final fixture.
Ons Jabeur vs Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina’s participation in the 2023 Wimbledon Championships was under a massive question mark after she withdrew from the preparatory tournaments before the grass-court Major. Nevertheless, bashing all the doubts, the defending champion made an incredible return to the green surface. In her opening match, she ambushed Shelby Roger and bashed the likes of Alize Cornet, Katie Boulter, and Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach the last eight.
However, she was up against a furious and revenge-seeking, Ons Jabeur. The Tunisian tennis professional started her campaign against Magdalena Fręcha and got a favorable start. Zhuoxuan Bai, Bianca Andreescu, and ninth-seed Petra Kvitová became other victims of Jabeur on her route to the quarter-final.
Last year, fans witnessed the Kazakh defeating Ons Jabeur to redeem her maiden Wimbledon crown. However, this year, the Tunisian professional proved that all challenges can be taken down with hard work and dedication.
As the match got underway, Rybakina managed to take the lead 3-0, however, Jabeur then entered unstoppable mode. She started winning consecutive points and made the score 5-6. Nevertheless, the Kazakh managed to push the match into a tie-break and emerge as the winner. After losing a nearly-won first set, Jabeur gave an incredible example of her elite mentality in the quarterfinal.
The second set was also a contest of nip and tuck. Both ladies were not ready to drop a single point or game. However, as the score reached 4-4, the Tunisian ended the set with two consecutive games in brilliant fashion and proved that she has recovered well from the lost set.
As the deciding set got underway, the Tunisian went on the mission of winning consecutive points as she got took a 3-0 lead against the defending champion. However, Rybakina managed to win a single game against Jabeur after losing five games continuously. Nevertheless, Ons Jabeur was not looking back as she was quick to reach the end and complete her revenge but the third seed 6-7(5-7), 6-4, 6-1.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka will be facing Ons Jabeur in the semi-finals of women’s singles
Following her form in the French Open, Iga Swiatek was seen as the favorite to win the prestigious Wimbledon championship. However, after Elina Svitolina eliminated her in the quarterfinals, the Australian Open winner, Aryna Sabalenka has taken the top spot. Since her first match, the Belarusian has been in astounding form. She defeated the likes of Panna Udvardy, Varvara Gracheva, Anna Blinkova, and Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the quarterfinal, where she was up against Madison Keys.
On the other hand, Keys was seeded 25th for Wimbledon Championships and she overcame a partially easy draw, consisting of Mirra Andreeva, Marta Kostyuk, Viktorija Golubic, and Sonay Kartal to reach the last eight.
Thus, facing Aryna Sabalenka was her biggest challenge in the tournament and she eventually failed to give her a tough fight. Since the start, the Belarusian made it clear that she will be displaying her high-risk, high-reward game. It also seemed like the American came unprepared for the pace and prowess of the 25-year-old.
Aryna Sabalenka dominated Keys thoroughly in the match as she won the first set without a significant sign of concern. As the second set got underway, Keys showed enthusiasm for a potential fight but she was already far behind in the mental battle against the Belarusian.
Consequently, without wasting any further time, the second seed ended the match 6-2, 6-4. Sabalenka will now be facing Jabeur in the semi-final of the 2023 Wimbledon championships and it will surely be a worthy contest of Indomitable forces.