Aryna Sabalenka survives the Wimbledon heat to reach semi-finals

World No1 Aryna Sabalenka has admitted she needs time to ‘cool down and recover’ after she fought back 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 opponent 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, 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 had 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”.’

Sabalenka’s comments came after Siegemund had broken her three times during the opening set to take a 5-2 lead, with the German threatening to cause one of the upsets of the tournament.

Siegemund held off a Sabalenka fightback to claim the first set 6-4, but the top seed appeared to have wrestled back momentum in the contest, as she broke in her rival’s first service game in the second.

After Sabalenka clinched the second set 6-2, many would have expected the tournament favourite to ease towards victory.

The match, however, swung back in Siegemund’s favour as she broke for a 3-1 advantage in the decider.

A relieved Sabalenka would ultimately battle through to win in three sets, with the top seed surviving her biggest scare of the tournament.

‘It is not like an annoying game, it is a smart game, she is really making everyone work,’ Sabalenka reflected after beating Siegemund.

‘Going into the match against her, you know you have to work for every point, it doesn’t matter if you are a big server or big hitter, you have work and run.

‘I have to focus on myself and make sure I didn’t give her that energy.

‘I didn’t want her to see that I was annoyed, even if I was at some bits.’

Sabalenka now awaits the winner of the quarter-final between Amanda Anisimova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.