Top-seeded Iga Swiatek is out of Wimbledon. So, too, is American Jessica Pegula.
Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina, who returned to the tour in April after giving birth to her daughter last October, ousted the top-seeded Swiatek on Centre Court 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the semifinals at the All England Club for the second time in four years.
Pegula’s hopes of finally reaching the semifinals of a Grand Slam event were burst after the fourth seed failed to win another game after leading 4-1 lead in the final set against Marketa Vondrousova, a left-handed Czech player who reached the French Open final in 2019.
Svitolina trailed 4-2 in the opening set and struggled to get her serve going in blustery conditions on Centre Court as Swiatek moved to a 5-3 lead. But after losing the next two points, momentum suddenly swung Svitolina’s way as she went on to win 16 of the next 18 points to grab the first set and leave a stunned Swiatek wondering what had gone wrong during a 20-minute break to close the roof.
The interlude gave Swiatek a chance to re-evaluate her tactics, and fiercely fought to win the second-set tiebreak on an errant backhand by Svitolina.
Svitolina kept believing as she broke for a 2-1 lead in the final set and then was dominant the rest of the way to end Swiatek’s 14-match winning streak.
Svitolina will next face Vondrousova, won five straight games against Pegula to close the match.
“I’m just trying to stay in every game. It can change pretty quickly,” Vondrousova said. “She got so much better in the second set. She was pushing me today.”
Pegula is now 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. The 29-year-old American was playing at this stage at Wimbledon for the first time.
Vondrousova had won only four matches on grass heading into the tournament at the All England Club. But she has won five in a row on the surface over the last eight days.
“My best result here was second round. It’s amazing. I’m just loving grass now,” Vondrousova said.
The victory for Vondrousova is her fourth over a seeded player at this year’s Wimbledon tournament. She beat No. 12 Veronika Kudermetova in the second round, No. 20 Donna Vekic in the third round and No. 32 Marie Bouzkova in the fourth round.
Pegula was leading 3-1 in the third set when play was suspended so that the roof over No. 1 Court…
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