Aryna Sabalenka has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the second straight time, after a 12 months’s break when she was banned from the event in 2022.
Sabalenka, a Belarusian seeded second on the All England Club, needed to sit out final 12 months’s competitors together with different gamers from her nation and from Russia due to the warfare in Ukraine.
The powerhouse, who’s already lifted the Australian Open title this 12 months, superior on Wednesday by beating American Madison Keys 6-2 6-4 on No.1 Court.
“It really feels amazing to be back in the semi-finals. I can’t wait to play in my second semi-final at Wimbledon,” Sabalenka, who misplaced to runner-up Karolina Pliskova in 2021, advised the group. “Hopefully I can do better than I did last time.”
The victory improved Sabalenka’s file to 17-1 at main tournaments this 12 months. After victory in Melbourne, she reached the semi-finals on the French Open earlier than her 5 wins to date on the grass at Wimbledon.
Sabalenka additionally improved her file to 6-0 in grand slam quarter-final matches, and she or he did so regardless of a lot of the cheering going towards Keys on Wednesday.
“Thank you so much for the atmosphere – even though you supported her more!” Sabalenka mentioned on courtroom. “I still enjoyed playing in front of you guys.”
Sabalenka will subsequent face both defending champion Elena Rybakina or Ons Jabuer, who have been enjoying in one other quarter-final match on Centre Court.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au