Top-seeded Iga Swiatek is out of Wimbledon. So, too, is American Jessica Pegula.
Ukrainian wild card Elina Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April after giving birth to her daughter last October, ousted the top-seeded Swiatek on Centre Court 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the semifinals at the All England Club for the second time in four years.
Pegula’s hopes of finally reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam event were burst after the fourth seed failed to win another game after leading 4-1 lead in the final set against Marketa Vondrousova, a left-handed Czech player who reached the French Open final in 2019.
Svitolina, 28, trailed 4-2 in the opening set and struggled to get her serve going in blustery conditions as Swiatek moved to a 5-3 lead. But after losing the next two points, momentum suddenly swung Svitolina’s way as she went on to win 16 of the next 18 points to grab the first set and leave a stunned Swiatek wondering what had gone wrong during a 20-minute break to close the roof.
“Honestly, it’s hard for me to, like, point (to) one thing what failed exactly,” Swiatek said. “I think Elina was just overall playing aggressively and giving it all in every shot.”
The interlude gave Swiatek a chance to reevaluate her tactics, and the four-time major champion fiercely fought to win the second-set tiebreak on an errant backhand by Svitolina. READ MORE
