2023-07-12 05:13:43
Wimbledon is well on its home stretch and Novak Djokovic remains indestructible and unbeatable. The Serb will reunite with Jannik Sinner on Friday for a rematch of their last year’s clash. The Italian dreams of doing great things, like what Elina Svitolina is doing, who became a mother less than a year ago and is present in the last four. This Wednesday, a tussle of “kids” promises a lot. It will pit Carlos Alcaraz once morest Holger Rune.
FAITHFUL TO THE POST! Faced with a much more aggressive and inspired Andrey Rublev than expected, Novak Djokovic may have lost one more round in his tournament, but he still managed his quarter-final (4-6 6-1 6-4 6- 3). With, as usual, this ability to get back in the saddle without flinching following a little incident! Evidenced by his start of the 2nd set, just perfect. Barring a wobbly first serve in the opening set, the ATP No. 2 hasn’t done many things wrong on the court. What disgust the Russian, who released his match, but even by being convincing, he might not make the hero of the place doubt more than that, who will meet Jannik Sinner on Friday in what will be his 12th half at Wimbledon. On the other hand, for the 8th time in his career in as many attempts, Rublev folded at the gates of a last four. By force, he will begin to believe himself cursed.
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DJOKO, THE ROARING 400TH… Yesterday in the quarter-finals, Novak Djokovic played his 400th Grand Slam match. Only Roger Federer (429) and Serena Williams (423) did better. Admit that the Serb seems set to break this other tennis record.
GREAT FIRST FOR SINNER… Not yet 22 years old but dominating once morest Roman Safiullin (6-4 3-6 6-2 6-2), Jannik Sinner will discover what a Grand Slam semi-final looks like. And it is an understatement to say that he relishes this historic qualification, which allows him to become the youngest player to climb into the last four in London for 16 years! “Except that this record will quickly fallhe quipped on the court, aware that the winner of Alcaraz-Rune will have knocked him down less than 24 hours following his establishment. But hey, I’m happy and still young, so at least let me savor this feeling for one more day, for one night…” Good humor and good humor from the Italian.
AN “EASY” COURSE… A look at what happened in this fortnight shows how much Sinner did not have to be shabby or make a lot of noise to overcome the obstacles that stood in his way. The former ski prodigy has indeed successively beaten the 111th in the world, the 98th in the world, the 79th in the world, the 85th in the world and the 92nd in the world. We had a more complicated path to settle in the last four. Note that Sinner has lost as many sets as Djokovic: 2.
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REUNION AND BAD MEMORY… A duel once morest the Serb on the Center Court inevitably reminds Jannik Sinner, who cannot hide from his memory their meeting last year in the quarter-finals, when he had completely derailed over the duel. While facing “Djoko” for the second time in his career, the Italian had indeed started off on his feet to lead two sets to nothing, before “choking” when he saw the feat approaching. It was no longer Sinner d’acier, but Sinner en pelota. Thus, from the 3rd set, he was no longer the same player and collapsed (7-5 6-2 3-6 2-6 2-6) to let his opponent melt on the title a few days later. Without doubt this is one of the biggest regrets of his young career. Will he be able to erase it already on Friday? Honestly, it sounds complicated.
SVITOLINA DID IT! Elina Svitolina had already sketched out more than the outlines of a return to top form by winning in Strasbourg and then rising to the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros, where Aryna Sabalenka had stopped her adventure. At Wimbledon, the Ukrainian did even better as she overthrew WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek (7-5 6-7 6-2) following a match that she might even have finished in two short sets. Skilled in service and very comfortable in her travels, the Swiss resident is perhaps distilling her best tennis, less than a year following giving birth to a daughter. She appears almost touched by grace in this fortnight and has never been so close to playing a Grand Slam final, knowing that she will start as the favorite on Thursday in her half once morest Marketa Vondrousova. “Eli” will play his third half, following his two defeats, at Wimbledon 2019 (Halep) and at the US Open the same year (Serena Williams). Never two (backhand) without three or a first final?
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WIND AT THE BACK… Svitolina is going through this tournament with the wind at her back and incredible success. But she also forces this success, since to reach the last four, she beat four Grand Slam winners (Venus Williams in the 1st round, Sofia Kenin in the 3rd, Victoria Azarenka in the round of 16 and therefore Swiatek yesterday). Only Elise Mertens, defeated in the 2nd round, has never won a “Major” in singles. But for the record, know that the Belgian had never lost in the second round of a Grand Slam in 20 tries! Svitolina therefore becomes the 3rd player in history to beat 4 former winners of “Majors” in a single tournament following Serena Williams (US Open 1999) and Justine Henin (Roland-Garros 2005). Both had then gone … to the end. Who can say that this Wimbledon is not promised to the Ukrainian?
SWIATEK TICK… Apart from when it came to tightening up the game to avoid drowning in front of the two match points of Saint-Galloise, we had not already found her exceptional in the previous round once morest Belinda Bencic, and now Iga Swiatek was therefore ejected of the tournament. Even with a quarter-final to put on her business card, the Pole is forced to admit that she still has a little trouble on the grass at the highest level; she does not play her tennis there as she manages to do magnificently on clay, with already 3 Roland-Garros in her bag. Worse, she sometimes misses shots that she is not used to “waffle”. But there is no doubt that she, former winner of the junior tournament (2018), will one day be able to force the door.
THE RETURN OF VONDROUSOVA… Not many people remember having seen her in the final of Roland-Garros. However, Marketa Vondrousova had appeared there. It was in 2019 and even if she had been swept away by Ashleigh Barty (6-1 6-3), the Czech then aged 19 years and 11 months had been able to mark the fortnight of her mark, taking advantage of it is true an incredibly open board. Since then, his career had stalled. The only notable fact: her Olympic final, lost to Belinda Bencic at the 2020 Olympics. But this summer, Wimbledon – where she had so far won only one match in four appearances – signs her rebirth, since she reached yesterday to subdue Jessica Pegula by allowing herself to register the last five games of the match (6-4 2-6 6-4)! Nothing now seems impossible to her, even less following having dominated 4 seeds to “show up” in the last four, where she is, at Church Road, only the 5th left-hander in history to go. , following Martina Navratilova, Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova and Angelique Kerber.
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FRIENDS CLASH AND REVENGE ON THE PROGRAM… It’s time for the rest of the quarter-finals this Wednesday, with Alcaraz-Rune and Medvedev-Eubanks for the men, as well as Jabeur-Rybakina and Keys-Sabalenka for the women. The standoff between the Spaniard and the Dane promises a lot and allows a retro look. Yes, it should be a big battle! They who met at the age of 12 grew up together and even competed in doubles side by side. This was particularly the case during the famous Petits As tournament, with a defeat in the semi-finals. In the women’s draw will be the revenge of the 2022 final. Can Jabeur erase her 2022 loss once morest Rybakina? “I wanted to be entitled to this revenge, there will be no mercy with her, who is an extraordinary player“, warned the Tunisian.
Arnaud Cerutti – @arnaud_cerutti
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