World No1 Aryna Sabalenka has admitted she needs time to ‘cool down and recover’ after stating a dramatic fightback to book her place in the Wimbledon semi-finals following a chaotic match against Laura Siegemund.
Sabalenka had been the clear favourite to claim the women’s singles title, but was put to the test by her 37-year-old on Centre Court before earning a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory.
The top seed had battled back from losing the opening set to take the match into a decider, but appeared uncharacteristically error-strewn.
Sabalenka was seen attempting to cool herself down with an ice pack during changeovers during the match, despite the temperatures only reaching 23C at SW19.
Having been forced into a third set for the first time at the tournament, the top seed was was forced to come from behind again in the decider after Siegemund, the world No104 had broken to take a 3-1 lead.
The Belarusian’s frustrations were on show as she struck the top of the net after a missed shot in the decider, while Siegemund received a time violation over her slow pace of play between serves.
Having dragged herself level at 3-3, Sabalenka blasted another errant backhand into the net to immediately hand back the break.
Sabalenka’s concerned camp, including boyfriend Georgios Frangulis, watched as she attempted to keep her hopes of a maiden Wimbledon title alive.
Having battled her frustration, Sabalenka rallied in the closing stages to win the final three games of the contest to book her place in the semi-finals for the third time in her career.
Sabalenka remains on course to reach her third Grand Slam final of the season, but had suffered defeat in both the Australian and French Open.
‘That was a real task and honestly, I need some time to cool down and recover from this match,’ Sabalenka admitted post-match.
‘She pushed me so much and honestly after that first set I was looking at my box like “book the tickets, I think we are about to leave this beautiful city, country, place”.’
