By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) -Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic won two tiebreaks to beat teenage Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3) 7-6(2) on Wednesday and become a first-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
The only mother left in the singles draw had four match points after Andreeva double-faulted in the second tiebreak on Centre Court and needed only the one, sealing victory with a smash at the net.
The first Swiss woman to make it to the last four since Martina Hingis in 1998 will now play Poland’s five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for a place in the final.
Andreeva, 18, fired four aces in the opening set to none for Bencic but there was next to nothing between the closely-matched pair until the Russian netted a couple of forehands in the ensuing tiebreak.
Bencic then had two break points at 4-4 in the second set, Andreeva saving one before hitting long to go 5-4 down and leaving the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion to serve for the match.
Andreeva refused to follow the script, however, and broke straight back to 5-5 before going to 6-5 with 28-year-old Bencic, who had her daughter Bella in April last year, then serving to take the match to another tiebreak.
The Swiss raced to a 6-2 lead and wasted no further time with the match already entering its third hour, despite hobbling slightly with what she said later was a cracked toenail.
“It’s crazy, it’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true,” Bencic said.
“I tried not to think about it at the match point. I’m just speechless. It is my second Grand Slam semi-final overall and my first at Wimbledon. Just speechless, so happy,” added the 28-year-old.
The sound of a champagne cork popping was something of an omen when it stopped Bencic mid-serve in the second set. She won the point and gave a thumbs up in the direction of the offender.
“I studied all evening yesterday to come up with a plan. I think it worked out well,” she said. “With two tiebreaks it is not easy, it’s just a small edge.”
Bencic’s only other Grand Slam semi-final was at the 2019 U.S. Open, when she lost to Canada’s eventual winner Bianca Andreescu.
Now back in the top 20 after maternity leave, she was proud of what she had achieved.
“I didn’t say it to myself much before but since having Bella I say it to myself every day,” she told the crowd.
“It’s not only me, I wouldn’t be able to do it without my amazing family and team. We worked so hard on the comeback.
“We are enjoying life on tour and to play great is a bonus. I’m generally just really happy to be able to play again because my body allows it.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ken Ferris)
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