The semi-finals have been set after some of the best quarter-finals were played. On the 11th of July the quarter-finals began and it was the 2 ladies semi-finals which started the day off.

On court 1 we saw a huge upset as the 4th seed, Pegula was knocked out by unseeded Czech Vondrousova in 3 incredible sets. The left handed Vondrousova was the stronger of the 2 players in the opening set and even though Pegula broke back to make it 4-4 in the first set, Vondrousova broke the very next game and then served out the opening set in fantastic fashion. Pegula however found her timing and rhythm and raced away in the 2nd set to level the match after taking the 2nd set 6-2. The top American continued with her momentum and broke at 2-1 to lead the final set 3-1 before a threat of rain caused the referee to come onto court to suspend play in order for the roof to close before the rain came down. This was perfect for Vondrousova who was struggling in the wind and it also helped possibly break the rhythm of Pegula. Once the roof was closed, Pegula played a clean love service hold and she was just 2 games away from a Wimbledon Semi-final. However from that moment on, Vondrousova started to play the way she played in the 1st set and hardly missed and all of a sudden it was level again at 4-4. An intense Pegula service game was played with both players playing some of their best tennis to save break points and game points. Vondrousova eventually was the player who came out on top of that game and she was now serving for the match at 5-4 after being 4-1 down. Considering Vondrousova was serving for a Wimbledon semi-final she served outstandingly to take that game and book her spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals. The match which was played at the same time on centre court was the quarter-final between Svitolina who was a wildcard and playing some great tennis and Swiatek who is the current world number 1 but had not had an easy time of it at Wimbledon. The first set started off perfectly for Swiatek as she broke early but surprisingly the break did not last long and it was 2-2. Swiatek however managed to break again and this time the break lasted and she led 5-3 in the opening set. Svitolina managed to force Swiatek to serve the set out after being 0-30 down in her service game. Swiatek from that moment on started to crumble under the pressure and she was broken to love to make it 5-5. Svitolina then lost just 1 point in the next 2 games to take the opening set. She had won 18 of the last 20 points in the set which is just unheard of, especially against the likes of Swiatek. The roof then had to close between the first and second set. Swiatek once again was the better starter in the set and led 3-1 in the 2n set before she was pegged back for the 3rd time in the match to 3-3. Both players never faced another break point in the set and the match ended up going to a tiebreak and both players had played some incredible tiebreaks so far in the tournament. Svitolina led the tiebreak 4-1 before being Swiatek quickly made it 4-4. And amazingly it was Swiatek who had the first set point at 6-5 in the tiebreak and a backhand unforced error from Svitolina meant we were heading into a 3rd and deciding set. Swiatek held to start the 3rd set and Svitolina who you felt had to hold, just about held in her first service game. From that moment on however it was all Svitolina who broke twice to lead 5-1 before taking the match 6-2 in the 3rd set and from Wildcard she is now a Wimbledon semi-finalist.

The men’s matches on the 11th was Sinner vs Safiullin and Djokovic vs Rublev. Sinner started off well against Safiullin and took the first set reasonably comfortably 6-3. Safiullin however took advantage of a Sinner lapse in concentration and took the 2nd set 6-3 to level the match at 1 set all. Sinner however was the stronger player and he made that clear as he went on to drop just 4 games in the next 2 sets to book his spot in his first grand slam semi-final. He opponent was the winner of Rublev and Djokovic. Rublev was playing some great tennis but Djokovic was still the huge favourite to win the match. The 7th seed just about hung in the first set and he took his one opportunity at 4-4 to break and then went on to hold his serve to take the opening set 6-4 and lead the 7 time champ. Djokovic however was not fazed and raced to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd set…eventually taking the set 6-1 to level the match. Djokovic broke early in the 3rd set but Rublev managed to hang around in the set and nearly broke back to make it 5-5 but unfortunately for the 7th seed, Djokovic played his best tennis at break points down and the number 2 seed held serve to lead 2 sets to love. 1 break of serve again in the 2nd set but it proved enough for Djokovic who books a meeting against Sinner for a spot in Sundays final.

Yesterday was another great day of tennis with 2 matches going the distance. The day once again started with the 2 ladies quarter-finals. First on, on court 1 was the match between 2nd seed, Sabalenka and the surprise package so far in the tournament Madison Keys. Sabalenka impressed in the opening set and ran away with it – she took it 6-2. The 2nd set however looked to be going Keys way after she managed to break Sabalenka to lead 4-2 and then was 40-0 up before Sabalenka won 5 straight points to break straight back. The 2nd seed, won the next 3 games to book her spot in yet another grand slam semi-final. The other ladies quarter-final was a much anticipated match because it was a repeat of the 2022 Wimbledon ladies singles final between 6th seed, Jabeur and 3rd seed and defending champion, Rybakina. The first set went as expected, as it was tight set. Rybakina broke to love to lead the opening set 3-1 but then amazingly she was broken to love and we were back on serve. The next break points were at 5-5 when Jabeur conjured up 2 break points which she took to lead 6-5. Jabeur then went 15-40 before getting back to deuce and then gave herself a set point. However it was Rybakina’s turn to survive in the set and she won 3 points in a row to take the opening set into a tiebreak. The tiebreak was tightly contested but at 3-3, Rybakina went on a run of points and led 6-3. Jabeur saved the 2 set points on her serve however Rybakina managed to find a first serve and Rybakina led 1 set to love. In the final last year it was Jabeur who led by a set to love. The 2nd set was once again a tight one but at 5-4 to Jabeur, Rybakina played a loose service game to let Jabeur back into the match as the match was level again at 1 set all. A bit surprisingly after the tight first 2 sets, the 3rd set was not a tight set at all as Jabeur raced away to a 3-0 lead and eventually took the set 6-1 to get her revenge on Rybakina and book her spot in the semi-finals for the 2nd straight year. This result has meant a new Wimbledon champion will be crowned.

On the mens side yesterday we saw an epic between unseeded but on fire Eubanks against 3rd seed, Medvedev. Medvedev started off the stronger as he took the opening set 6-4 but Eubanks started to feed off the crowd support and possibly played the set of his life as he leveled the match after he took the 2nd set 6-1. He continued along in the 3rd set however Medvedev started to serve better which meant the set was closer but it still went the American’s way 6-4. Medvedev used all his experience in the 4th set to know that he needed to just hang around and not give the advantage to the American. The set ended up going to a tiebreak and it was the cool and calm Medvedev who took it 7-4 to set up a 1 set shootout. Unfortunately for Eubanks who had left it all out on the court in the 4th set and had little left in the last set. Medvedev ended up taking it 6-1 to book his spot in the semi-finals. An impressive win from the former US Open champion. His opponent in the semi-finals would be the winner of the young guns. Alcaraz was up against Rune for a spot in the Wimbledon semi-finals. Both players looked nervy in the opening set and as a result it ended up going to a tiebreak which the number 1 in the world managed to take 7-3 after an amazing backhand return winner. This allowed Alcaraz to settle a little bit and he looked in control for the rest of the match. He took the next 2 sets 6-4 and will face Medvedev for a chance at the Wimbledon title.

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and for the first time in a while, ‘Sinner’s Injuries’ have lost some of their lead. ‘Fantasy Alive’ now sit in 2nd and have reduced the gap to the leaders to 17 points. ‘Calf Cramps’ lose their 2nd spot and now sit in 3rd just 3 points ahead of ‘Pumpkin Picks’ who sit in 4th. ‘Fine Whines’ sit in 5th but are just 2 points ahead of the pack behind. With the loss of some big ladies we have out 2nd team eliminated. ‘Eish’ who are currently sitting in 60th have been eliminated from the fantasy league.

Ladies Semi-Finals:

• Svitolina vs Vondrousova (14H30)
  5 teams have Svitolina while just 2 teams have Vondrousova
• Jabeur(6) vs Sabalenka(2) (15H45)
  13 teams have Jabeur while 28 teams have Sabalenka.

Jared

Jared matriculated in 2020 from Wynberg Boys High School in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. His passion for tennis afforded him the opportunity of travelling to Europe. He is a quizmaster and a tennis fantasy league organiser.http://Eishonline.co.za/jftl