Belinda Bencic, enjoying in her first Wimbledon quarterfinal in 9 appearances on the All England Membership, upset Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Wednesday to achieve her second Grand Slam semifinal and first in six years.
“I am simply speechless, actually,” stated Bencic, who was unseeded for the match. “So pleased.”
On Thursday she is going to face No. 8 Iga Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion who may even be making her debut within the final 4 at Wimbledon. The opposite semifinal is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka towards No. 13 Amanda Anisimova; they superior with wins Tuesday.
The No. 7-seeded Andreeva, who was bidding to turn into the primary 18-year-old within the girls’s draw to achieve the Wimbledon semifinals since Maria Sharapova in 2005, hadn’t dropped a set in 4 matches and had performed one set previous 4-all.
Bencic, who at 28 is a decade older than Andreeva, is competing in her second main match since returning to the tour after giving delivery to her first youngster — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024.
She missed final yr’s Wimbledon whereas she was on maternity go away and returned to competitors final October. After beginning the yr ranked No. 489, she is about to achieve the High 20 after this fortnight.
Bencic, whose solely different main semifinal look got here on the 2019 US Open, was one in every of 9 moms within the Wimbledon singles draw, however is the one one nonetheless in competition.
“I am very proud, really. All my profession, I did not say it quite a bit to myself, however after having Bella, I actually say it to myself every single day,” Bencic stated. “We’re simply having fun with life on tour with Bella, touring. It has been lovely to create these recollections collectively. And clearly, to play nice is so wonderful, however for me, it is a bonus. I am typically simply actually pleased to have the ability to play once more.”
She joined Martina Hingis as the one Swiss girls to achieve the Wimbledon semifinals within the Open period. Hingis received the title in 1997 and made the semis in 1998.
Bencic closed with 66-1 odds to win this yr’s match, based on ESPN BET. The previous three girls’s champions all had odds of 80-1 or longer (Elena Rybakina in 2022 was 100-1, Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 was 80-1, and Barbora Krejcikova final yr was 100-1).
ESPN Analysis and The Related Press contributed to this report.
