Four days remain at Wimbledon in 2025 and that means we are down to the last eight players at the tournament as the third Grand Slam of the season draws to a close.
By the end of Thursday, we will have the Ladies Final and the next Champion will be a step closer to achieving their aim.
Both favourites are rightly favoured in the Semi Final matches to be played on Day 11, although conditions are going to be far from easy with the temperature soaring in London.
Aryna Sabalenka - 3.5 games v Amanda Anisimova: The Quarter Final proved to be a very exhausting occasion for Aryna Sabalenka, both mentally and physically, but she remains a part of the Wimbledon draw. After the win over Laura Siegemund, the World Number 1 admitted her thoughts had turned to leaving another Grand Slam without the trophy as the lower Ranked player's style bamboozled Sabalenka.
There were a lot of spins and slices, a change of rhythm between points and just the all-around grass court tennis style that so few play with these days.
Allowing her frustration to build, Aryna Sabalenka showed plenty of character and resolve to eventually come through in almost three hours on the court and the day of rest between the Quarter Final and Semi Final will do her good.
You can guarantee that Amanda Anisimova will emphasise with the Belarusian having reached the Final at Queen's Club last month before being beaten by veteran Tatjana Maria and all of the grass court nous that the older player had. That has not stopped Amanda Anisimova from building her confidence on this surface and a strong run through to the Semi Final will have added to her belief.
This is also a match up that Amanda Anisimova has enjoyed- she has won five of the eight previous matches against Aryna Sabalenka, although the World Number 1 will point out that three of the last four have been won by herself. That includes revenge wins over the American at the Australian Open in 2024 and French Open in 2025 having lost at both of those Slams to Amanda Anisimova in 2019.
Aryna Sabalenka will appreciate that she will enjoy this match up much more than the Quarter Final in that she is going to be opposed by someone who will want to hit through the ball as much as she will herself. That should mean an 'easier' rhythm to understand, although Sabalenka will be well aware of the threat that Amanda Anisimova will bring onto the court.
Both are going to be well aware of the importance of serving well- on what is expected to be a hot day, the ball is going to be tough to deal with if the server is playing at a top level.
The consistent serving at the tournament has been with Anisimova, but there is little doubt that the higher level can come from Aryna Sabalenka and that is where the World Number 1 may prove to have an edge. She has not always looked at her most convincing this year at Wimbledon, but Sabalenka has shown plenty of character to come through difficult moments and she may also be a bit more battle-hardened having had a tougher pathway into the Semi Final.
When they met at Roland Garros last month, Amanda Anisimova was being given a couple more games on the handicap and she was able to cover, despite a straight sets defeat. This time the spread looks a bit more manageable for Aryna Sabalenka to win and cover, just as long as the top Seed can deal with the nerves and tension she has displayed at the business end of Slams throughout her career.
A first Wimbledon Final will mean a lot to Aryna Sabalenka and she can win a big-hitting Semi Final.
Iga Swiatek - 4.5 games v Belinda Bencic: The second Semi Final in the Ladies tournament is the one occasion in this Grand Slam where players are actually scheduled to play on back to back days.
Both winners came through in straight sets on Wednesday, which will help, although there was a slight concern about Belinda Bencic's health having called for the trainer towards the end of the second set.
However, it is the Wimbledon Semi Final and that is going to mean the adrenaline will be used to push Bencic through.
A bigger test may be the opponent standing on the other side of the net, even if Iga Swiatek is playing in her first Wimbledon Semi Final too.
The Quarter Final win over Liudmila Samsonova was another solid one for Swiatek, although she will know that she needs to improve her serving having faced ten Break Points in that win. She saved eight of those, but Iga Swiatek had been much more dominant behind serve before that victory and she will look for that to be a big weapon for her against Belinda Bencic.
In previous meetings between the players, the Iga Swiatek serve has been a big advantage for her, although Belinda Bencic has shown her own qualities behind that shot. It was the key to getting past youngster Mirra Andreeva and the Swiss player is going to be well aware of the importance of trying to keep the former World Number 1 under the pump.
Playing on the grass should help, but Belinda Bencic is going to need to be healthy and it is important to note that Iga Swiatek has beaten her here at Wimbledon before.
That was in July 2023 and it will give the multiple time Grand Slam Champion a little more belief in her ability to make it through to a maiden Wimbledon Final. It is Iga Swiatek who has dominated the break points in recent matches against Belinda Bencic and she has been playing well enough to put the pressure on the World Number 35 if there is any lingering injury concern.
Matches between the pair have been competitive, but it is Iga Swiatek who is playing at a good enough level to work her way through to the Final behind a solid win.
MY PICKS: Aryna Sabalenka - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Iga Swiatek - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Wimbledon Update: 3-2, + 0.66 Units (10 Units Staked, + 6.60% Yield)
No comments:
Post a Comment