By Matthew Marolf
The ladies’ semi-finals are headlined by the 23-time Major champion, who is 10-1 in this round of The Championships, with her only loss coming in her first semi-final 19 years ago. Joining her is last year’s French Open champion, playing for her fifth Slam final.
And then there are two first-time Major semi-finalists. One is a 33-year-old veteran who has been contemplating retiring from the sport. The other is one of the WTA’s finest players of the last few seasons, who is still fighting to transfer her tour success to the Majors.
Serena Williams (11) vs. Barbora Strycova
10 days ago when this fortnight began, Serena’s chances of winning this tournament seemed slimmer than usual. She had been injured for almost all of 2019, with her movement looking severely compromised six weeks ago in Paris. And her draw appeared extremely challenging, with many Major champion in her section. But they all went home before reaching Serena in the draw, allowing Williams the chance to arrive at the final without facing a top 16 seed. And Serena’s movement has improved, just as her confidence has grown with each passing round. In her twelfth Wimbledon semi-final, she faces an unlikely, unseeded opponent.
As dangerous as Strycova can be on the grass, she’s 0-3 against Serena, having never taken a set. If Serena is on her A-game, this should be smooth sailing. But if the GOAT is feeling the pressure of the occasion, Strycova could complicate matters. Barbora should play rather freely knowing she’s a severe underdog. And we’ve seen Serena struggle against opponents with a lot of variety in situations like this before – Roberta Vinci immediately comes to mind. I think this will be a rather tight contest, though Serena remains the favourite.
Simona Halep (7) vs. Elina Svitolina (8)
This should be good. These two share quite a history, with Svitolina holding a 4-3 edge in their head-to-head. They’ve never before played on grass, with this surface historically being the weakest for each. Their only meeting at a Major was quite dramatic, and downright traumatic for Svitolina. At the 2017 French Open, Elina was up a set and 5-1 in the quarterfinals, when the nerves of being one game from her first Slam semi-final kicked in. Halep fought all the way back to victory, saving a match point in the second set tiebreak. That squandered opportunity resulted in a lot of scar tissue for Elina, who would require three more Major quarterfinals to breakthrough to the final four for the first time.
Their most recent matchup was earlier this year in the Doha semi-finals, which Halep took 6-4 in the third. There’s no reason to believe this won’t be another captivating, extended affair. They both strike the ball well, make few errors, and are quick around the court. There’s really not much between them considering their similar styles, so this will likely come down to who better manages their emotions, and is better prepared for the moment. In her first Grand Slam semi-final, I expect Svitolina will feel relieved having finally reached this stage, which will embolden her play in this match. And as sharp as Halep has been at this tournament, perhaps she’s due for a bit of a let-down. I’m giving the edge to Svitolina to pull off the ever-slight upset in three sets.
Other notable matches on Day 10:
In the gentlemen’s doubles semi-finals, Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (2), who have won three titles since April, vs. Halle champions Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus (3).
In the other semi-final, Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (11), the team that eliminated the Bryan Brothers as well as top seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, vs. Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek, who also beat two top 10 seeds in this tournament.
