Kerber, Barty sweep into Wimbledon semis
Sabalenka subdues Jabeur; Pliskova makes first last four
FORMER Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber remains on course for another final at the All England Club after dismantling Karolina Muchova in ruthless fashion in the last eight of women’s singles on Tuesday.
The 25th seed progressed into the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory following one hour and 15 minutes of action on Court One as she continues her recent revival.
Success at the Bad Homburg Open last month earned Kerber a first title in two years after exits at the 2021 Australian Open and French Open in round one had extended her poor Grand Slam run since victory in SW19 three years ago.
Kerber said: “The last few months it was really tough and I was not being able to get the results I was actually looking for but also for everyone the last few months were not so easy.
“For me, I was never stopping believing in myself and my team. I love to play tennis and love this sport to go out and play in front of the fans, I think this gives me also that push for me to play my best tennis right now.
“I have always in my career had some up and downs but I was always believing I could come back because I know what I can do. The belief, yeah I never stopped to believe in myself how I can play.”
Muchova gave the German a big helping hand with a string of wayward shots and unforced errors to ensure her equal-best showing at the Championships ended with a disappointing display.
A long rally from the opening point of the match suggested a close encounter and that proved the case in the early exchanges.
Kerber was forced to work hard to hold on serve but despite her Czech rival forcing deuce on a number of occasions, the first break went to the 2018 Wimbledon winner and she found herself 3-0 up.
The 19th seed had played well to find herself with a large deficit and although she got off the mark in the next game, the first set was over in 34 minutes.
A double fault and two unforced errors by Muchova gave Kerber a second break which clinched the opener 6-2.
Once again Kerber was forced to fight on her own serve at the beginning of the next set and she saved three break points to hold.
It was a similar situation on her next service game and this time Muchova did make the most of it as the quarterfinal threatened to turn into a contest. But the two-time finalist at Wimbledon was able to win the break back straight away and reeled off four games in a row to move within touching distance of another lastfour berth at SW19.
Another wayward shot from Muchova saw the second set wrapped up in 41 minutes to give Kerber a 10th consecutive win having started the year in poor form with firstround exits at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
Kerber only produced 15 winners but held her nerve at the crucial moments, winning four out of six break points, to continue her fine tournament with a semi-final date against Ash Barty on Thursday.
Barty breezes past compatriot Tomljanovic
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty powered her way into the semi-finals with a straight-sets demolition of fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Barty, the former French Open champion, is into the last four at SW19 for the first time after a brutal 6-1, 6-3 victory on Centre Court.
Tomljanovic, who was Emma Raducanu’s fourthround opponent on Monday night when the British teenager retired due to breathing difficulties, was broken three times as Barty raced away with the first set in 24 minutes.
The 28-year-old, ranked 75 in the world, had won just 11 points in the opening set, but she at least threatened to make a fight of the second.
The Barty serve was broken twice, but each time Tomljanovic was unable to hold and the match was wrapped up with an ace - her 23rd winner - in an hour and six minutes.
Barty said: “It’s exciting. Ajla is an incredible competitor, I practice with her a lot and of course we are Fed Cup teammates so she was always going to bring the best out of me.
About meeting Kerber, Barty said, “It’s the ultimate test. Angie has had success here before and I love that match-up. She’s an incredible competitor.”
Sabalenka breaks new ground
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka powered into her first Grand Slam semi-final with victory over Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
This was a classic contrast of styles, with the big-hitting Sabalenka against the versatile Jabeur, and it was power that came out on top as the Belarusian secured a 6-4, 6-3 victory in just 74 minutes.
Sabalenka had struggled to match her form on the WTA Tour at the slams, admitting she was finding it difficult not to put too much pressure on herself to break through the fourth-round barrier.
She achieved that with victory over Elena Rybakina on Monday and played freely in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, keeping Jabeur on the defensive and not allowing the Tunisian trailblazer to spin her web of disruption.
They were neck and neck for eight games but Sabalenka held serve to make it 5-4 and then clinched the set with the first break in the 10th game, taking her fifth set point.
Jabeur, who had fought back from a set down against both Garbine Muguruza and Iga Swiatek, was the clear crowd favourite and fought back from 0-2 to 2-2.
But Sabalenka pulled ahead again and saved another break point to serve out the match and set up a semi-final clash with Karolina Pliskova.
Maiden Wimbledon semi for Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova continued her career-best run at Wimbledon by knocking out surprise package Viktorija Golubic to reach the semi-finals.
The Czech former world number one had never been beyond the fourth round at the All England Club but is yet to drop a set and eased to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Golubic.
The Swiss, ranked 66, was playing in her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the age of 28, with her scalps here including American duo Danielle Collins and Madison Keys.
Her one-handed backhand is a real crowd pleaser but ultimately Pliskova was far too solid, sweeping through the match in 81 minutes.
Pliskova has been tipped as a future Grand-Slam champion ever since she reached the US Open final in 2016 but she has never made it that far since and came into Wimbledon under the radar after a disappointing season. She had failed to get past the fourth round at a Slam since reaching the last four at the Australian Open in 2019.