Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Just here for the towels--Iga stays cool and dry

It's a running joke at Wimbledon that Iga Swiatek "steals" the official tournament player towels after her matches. A collector by nature--legos, major tennis titles, etc.--the Polish star collected a towel today that has eluded her for some time. For the first time, Swiatek has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals. She defeated Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 in today's first* quarterfinal.

Samsonova is a talented, big-hitting player who, until this week, had never made it past the fourth round of a major. And--given Swiatek's career difficulties for the past several months, and her history of struggling somewhat on grass--this looked, on paper, like a big chance for Samsonova to surge forward. But the Swiatek we've seen in London this year has looked more comfortable and confident, and she was able to easily take the first set, 6-2. The second set was much more competitive, and fans got to see more of Samsonova's game. The Russian player broke Swiatek twice, but--as close as the set was--Swiatek won it and advanced to the semifinals.

*And speaking of running jokes: Wimbledon scheduled both women's semifinal matches at approximately the same time, which is inexcusable (and right on brand for Wimbledon).

In the other semifinal, another "first" occurred. For the first time in her career, Belinda Bencic has reached the Wimbledon semifinals. Bencic had a tough opponent in Mirra Andreeva, who not only had the home advantage, but also the advantage of her considerable talent and early success. But the Swiss star, who gave birth to a daughter last year, was off of the tour for thirteen months, but has made a rather smooth re-entry, reaching the round of 16 at the 2025 Australian Open, then going on to win the title in Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, Bencic sustained an injury in the spring.

The Olympic gold medal winner won her very close (7-6, 7-6) quarterfinal by serving cleverly, keeping the ball low, and remaining strategic throughout the match.

Singles semifinal draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Amanda Anisimova (13)
Belinda Bencic v. Iga Swiatek (8)A

Anisimova has a 5-3 record against Sabalenka; they have never played each other on grass. Swiatek has a 3-1 record against Anisimova. One of her victories occurred in the 2023 round of 16 at Wimbledon.

The semifinals have also been set in doubles:

Kateriina Siniakova/Taylor Townsewnd (1) v. Hsieh Su wei/ AloΕ„a Ostapenko (4)
Olivia Gadecki/Desirae Krawczyk v. Veronika Kudermetova/Elise Mertens (8) 

Siniakova is already in the doubles final. She and Sam Verbeek will face Luisa Stefani and Joe Salisbury for the title. Siniakova and Townsend defeated Stefani and Temea Babos in their quarterfinal match.

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