Thursday the 13th of July saw the day of the ladies semi-finals. 2 very different semi-finals were on display with 1 semi-final between 2 unseeded players vying for the first grand slam final and 1 between 2 players who know what it’s like to make a grand slam final.

The first semi-final was between Svitolina ,the wildcard who knocked out world number 1 Swiatek in the quarter-finals, and Vondrousova who knocked out the 4th seed, Pegula, by winning 5 games in a row in the deciding set. The match started off with both players holding serve but both players looking a bit nervy. We saw the first break at 2-2 when Vondrousova broke Svitolina after a poor game by the Ukranian. However the break did not last long at all as Svitolina broke straight back after being given a chance in the game thanks to some double faults. Vondrousova however was not fazed and continued to play her game plan which was to keep the ball low and drop shot when the opportunity arose in order to break Svitolina’s rhythm. This worked so well for the Czech player as she won the next 3 games on the trot to win the opener 6-3 and then raced to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd set. However the Czech started to feel the nerves as she was just 2 games away and from 4-0, we were back on serve at 3-4 Svitolina serving for 4-4. Vondrousova gathered herself just in time as she broke to lead 5-3 and then held serve in impressive style to book her spot in her first grand slam final and knock out Svitolina who has had one amazing comeback since coming back on tour in April.

The 2nd semi-final was between Sabalenka who has not lost many matches this year and who was wanting to make her first Wimbledon final and take the number 1 in the world away from Swiatek and her opponent was last years finalist Jabeur who was looking to right the wrongs of last year. The first set was an impressive set by both players as no player was broken on their way to a first set tiebreak. Jabeur however was holding serve a lot easier than Sabalenka which was a bit surprising considering how much more powerful Sabalenka serves. The tiebreak was tight as it was 4-4. Sabalenka then made a gap to lead 6-4 before Jabeur made it 6-5. A big point from Sabalenka forced the error from Jabeur and the number 2 in the world was a set away from a Wimbledon final. Sabalenka was the first to break in the match after 4 holds of serve. She backed up the break and led 4-2 and was just 2 games away from the win. A confident service hold from Jabeur kept it close at 4-3. The 8th game turned out to be the game which decided the set as Sabalenka had a chance at 40-30 to take the set to 5-3 but it Jabeur who managed to take the game and we were level at 4-4. Sabalenka then had another chance to take a 5-4 lead as she conjured up a break point opportunity but once again Jabeur managed to force the error to save the break point and then went on to win the game and from 4-2 down, Jabeur was now just a game away from leveling the match. And the Tunisian did just that as she broke Sabalenka to win 4 games in a row and win the 2nd set 6-4 and force a 1 set shootout. The 6th game was once again a big game but this time it was other way round as it was Jabeur who broke Sabalenka to lead the 3rd set 4-2. An impressive hold and Jabeur was just 1 game away from an amazing comeback and her consecutive Wimbledon final. Sabalenka did her job as she saved 2 match points in her service game to force Jabeur to serve out the match but Jabeur was holding serve well and this game was no different and Jabeur after a tough pre season on grass was into a consecutive Wimbledon final. She will also back her chances against a first time grand slam finalist in Vondrousova.

Onto the fantasy leaderboard and ‘Sinner’s Injuries’ who had no ladies left have their lead eaten into by ‘Fantasy Alive’ who have now closed the gap to just 9 points. ‘Calf Cramps’ remain in 3rd but are now 11 points behind 2nd. ‘Fine Whines’ continue to impress as they now move up into 4th and are just 2 points behind ‘Calf Cramps’ in 3rd. ‘Lorna’s Lucky 13’ had an amazing day as they moved up 4 spots and into 5th place demoting ‘Pumpkin Picks’ who have been enjoying the top 5 for a while.
The ladies semi-final results did however see 2 more teams eliminated from the fantasy league. ‘Ms.Hits’ who are sitting 37th have been eliminated and ‘On the freakin Line’ who are sitting in 59th have also been eliminated.

Mens Semi-Finals

• Sinner(8) vs Djokovic(2) (14H30)
• Alcaraz(1) vs Medvedev(3) (16H30)

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