Belinda Bencic, enjoying in her first Wimbledon quarterfinal in nine appearances on the All England Membership, upset Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Wednesday to succeed in her second Grand Slam semifinal and first in six years.
“I am simply speechless, actually,” mentioned Bencic, who was unseeded for the event. “So glad.”
On Thursday she’s going to face No. 8 Iga Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion who can even be making her debut in the last four at Wimbledon. The opposite semifinal pits No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in opposition to No. 13 Amanda Anisimova; they superior with wins Tuesday.
The No. 7-seeded Andreeva, who was bidding to turn out to be the primary 18-year-old within the girls’s draw to succeed in the semifinals since Maria Sharapova in 2005, hadn’t dropped a set in 4 matches and had performed one set previous 4-all.
Bencic, who at 28 is a decade older than Andreeva, is competing in her second main event since returning to the tour after giving delivery to her first baby — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024.
She missed final 12 months’s Wimbledon whereas she was on maternity depart and returned to competitors final October. After beginning the 12 months ranked No. 489, she is about to succeed in the highest 20 after this fortnight.
Bencic, whose solely different main semifinal look got here on the 2019 US Open, was one among 9 moms within the Wimbledon singles draw, however is the one one nonetheless in rivalry.
“I am very proud, really. All my profession, I did not say it lots to myself, however after having Bella, I actually say it to myself every single day,” Bencic mentioned. “We’re simply having fun with life on tour with Bella, touring. It has been stunning to create these recollections collectively. And clearly, to play nice is so superb, however for me, it is a bonus. I am usually simply actually glad to have the ability to play once more.”
She joined Martina Hingis as the one Swiss girls to succeed in the Wimbledon semifinals within the Open period. Hingis gained the title in 1997 and made the semis in 1998.
Bencic closed with +6600 odds to win this 12 months’s event, in accordance with ESPN BET. The previous three girls’s champions all had odds of +8000 or longer (Elena Rybakina in 2022 was 100-1, Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 was +8000, and Barbora Krejcikova final 12 months was 100-1).
ESPN Analysis and The Related Press contributed to this report.