The ladies’ singles semifinals will be played Thursday afternoon on Centre Court.
The first semifinal on Thursday sees a wild card face an unseeded player, yet it should be a fantastic match with contrasting styles between recent new mom Elina Svitolina and 2019 Roland Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova, as both have been playing at a very high level this fortnight. The second semifinal features last year’s runner-up against this year’s Australian Open champion, as Ons Jabeur takes on Aryna Sabalenka in a highly-anticipated encounter.
Elina Svitolina (WC) vs. Marketa Vondrousova – 1:30pm on Centre Court
The list of names Elina Svitolina has taken down to reach her third career Major semifinal goes as follows: Venus Williams, Elise Mertens, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka, and Iga Swiatek. And the matches against Azarenka and Swiatek were long, grueling three-setters. Svitolina was previously known as a more defensive player who often choked in big matches.
Becoming a mother and representing Ukraine during Russia’s unprovoked invasion of that nation are certainly motivating factors, but Elina also credits the months she spent while inactive studying tapes of her matches with her coach Raemon Sluiter, and changes they’ve made to her style of play. And it shows, as she’s a more aggressive hitter and server now, which is being rewarded by the lawns of The All England Club.
Vondrousova has also endured a tough path to this Slam semifinal, her second, taking out four consecutive seeds. And against Jessica Pegula in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, she was just one point away from going down 5-1 in the third, before rattling off five straight games to close out the match. Marketa is vying for her second Major final, after surprisingly achieving that feat four years ago at Roland Garros as a 19-year-old. She’s persevered through multiple injuries to get back to this stage of a Major.
Svitolina leads their head-to-head 3-2, though Vondrousova’s two wins came in their two most recent meetings, and they weren’t close. Three years ago in Rome on clay, she prevailed 6-3, 6-0. And two years ago in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, she prevailed 6-3, 6-1 to propel herself towards a silver medal, while Svitolina would win bronze.
But this is a different Elina, as both a player and a person. Based on her new and improved style of play, and the fighting spirit she has shown throughout these Championships, I favor Svitolina to achieve her first Major final.
Ons Jabeur (6) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Second on Centre Court
Jabeur was on the brink of elimination and complete frustration on Wednesday, dropping the first set in a tiebreak despite holding multiple set points, against the same person that defeated her in last year’s championship match, Elena Rybakina. But in that moment, Ons dug in, coming back to win in three and avenge that painful loss from a year ago. Having defeated Andreescu, Kvitova, and Rybakina in succession, is Jabeur ready to defeat a fourth consecutive Major champion to return to the Wimbledon final?
Sabalenka had a much easier time on Wednesday, dispatching of Madison Keys in straight sets. She’s now an excellent 40-7 on the year, as she vies for her second Slam final. But Sabalenka has a lot of scar tissue when it comes to Slam semifinals.
Prior to this year’s Australian Open, she was 0-3 in Major semis, losing all three by a score of 6-4 in the third. And after beating Maga Linette in Australia, she lost a heartbreaking semifinal to Karolina Muchova just a month ago in Paris, going down in defeat 7-5 in the third despite holding a match point, losing 20 of the last 24 points.
Sabalenka is 3-1 against Jabeur, and 1-0 on grass. Two years ago in the quarterfinals of this event, Aryna won in straight sets, so this is a chance for Ons to avenge her two most recent Wimbledon losses in back-to-back days. Sabalenka’s other two victories came on hard courts, including a tight match at last year’s WTA Finals that went to 7-5 in third. Jabeur’s only win was their only meeting on a clay court, three years ago at Roland Garros.
But considering the confidence Jabeur has closed out her last two matches with against similarly big hitters, as well as Sabalenka’s painful history in this round of Majors, I give Ons the ever-so-slight edge to prevail on Thursday. Plus, also on the line for Aryna is her debut atop the WTA rankings with a win over Ons, which only adds even more pressure atop her shoulders.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.