Wimbledon 2021: Ash Barty, Angelique Kerber advance to semis, Ons Jabeur's trailblazing run ends
After a busy, busy Monday, Wimbledon calmed down a little for quarterfinal play on Tuesday. Besides Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz finishing their suspended Round of 16 match, Tuesday is all about the women.
Will No. 1 seed Ash Barty beat Ajla Tomljanovic and make it farther at Wimbledon than she ever has before? Will 2018 champion Angelique Kerber, who recently won her first title in three years, be able to keep surging and advance past Karolina Muchova? You'll find all the results right here.
Ash Barty advances to first Wimbledon semifinal
The injury that forced Ash Barty to withdraw from the French Open doesn't seem to be bothering her a bit. The No. 1 seed defeated fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes, and continues to play solid, confident tennis.
Barty lost the very first game of the match, which caused momentary concern, but she erased that almost immediately. She won the next six games and won the set in just 24 minutes, showing off some impressive skills.
That whip from @ashbarty 🍦#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/HilD2sgUzh
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021
Barty went on a similar run in the second set, dropping the first game and winning the next four. But then Tomljanovic started battling. She won the next two games, bringing the score to 4-3, and it looked like Barty could be in real trouble. If she was, she brought it back quickly, knocking out the next two games and winning the match on an ace.
Game, set and match - with an ace - @ashbarty 👌
The world No.1 defeats compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-3 to reach the #Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time pic.twitter.com/qj7AATwPvl— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021
Barty has never made it to the Wimbledon semifinals before, and she knows it'll be tough to make it to the final. She'll be facing Angelique Kerber, the 2018 champ who is on a 10-match win streak, and considers that to be the toughest task she's faced all tournament.
Barty calls Kerber the "ultimate test" at #Wimbledon. Should be a great one.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 6, 2021
Angelique Kerber through to first Grand Slam semi since 2018
Angelique Kerber is back, making her first Grand Slam semifinal since her championship run at Wimbledon in 2018. The No. 25 seed beat Karolina Muchova 6-2, 6-3 just one day after taking down Coco Gauff.
Though Kerber didn't look as dominant as she had in previous matches (perhaps due to playing matches on back-to-back days for the first time during the tournament), she stayed in control the entire time. She found Muchova's weakness and didn't let up.
Get low and unleash - it's what @AngeliqueKerber does best 👌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Fm8Mgn92dC
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021
Another day, another passing shot from Kerber. #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/0lFy8iErzn
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) July 6, 2021
It was a disappointing showing for Muchova, who is typically a great grass player. She just didn't really show up, and ended up losing on a ball that she hit too hard.
A semi-final spot for @AngeliqueKerber! 👏
The 2018 #Wimbledon champion wins 6-2, 6-3 against Karolina Muchova to book her place in the final four pic.twitter.com/r5tSzIh0cj— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021
The tennis Kerber is playing at Wimbledon is her best in years. She had major success in 2016 and 2018 but wasn't able to sustain it, turning in a number of Round 1 losses in Grand Slams. But that seems to be turning around. Including her victory on Tuesday, Kerber is on a 10-match winning streak. She'll face the winner of Ash Barty in the semifinals.
Ons Jabeur's dream run ends with loss to Aryna Sabalenka
No. 21 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia blazed a trail for Arab women at Wimbledon, but her journey ended on Tuesday when she couldn't pull out a win against No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, losing 4-6, 3-6.
Jabeur and Sabalenka were evenly matched, and they played like it. They battled to 4-4 in the first set before Sabalenka could carve out an advantage. Her forehand began working for her, but she got a little help from Jabeur, who began looking tired and playing flat. This was not only Jabeur's first Grand Slam quarterfinal, but she also played three sets against Iga Swiatek just one day earlier.
It looked like Jabeur might stage a comeback in the second set. She battled back to 2-2 after Sabalenka jumped out to an early lead, and refused to give up even as Sabalenka and her relentless power served for the match. But Jabeur couldn't find any consistency beyond continuing to hit the ball into the net. Sabalenka prevailed, and will face Karolina Pliskova in her first Grand Slam semifinal.
Despite exiting short of her ultimate goal, Jabeur's run at Wimbledon was significant. She became the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam tournament, and she beat three Grand Slam champions to get there (Venus Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza and Swiatek).
Daniil Medvedev falls short in restarted match
The Round of 16 match between No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev and No. 14 seed Hubert Hurkacz, which was suspended Monday night, finished up on Tuesday morning. It did not go well for Medvedev, who lost 6-2, 6(2)-7, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6. He led two sets to one when the game was suspended, but was losing 4-3 in the fourth set. On Day 2 of the match, Medvedev came out flat and Hurkacz took advantage.
Most significantly, Hurkacz started reading Medvedev's drop shots. Without that tool in his toolbox while already playing without a lot of energy or intensity, Medvedev was toast and Hurkacz was through to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
The win of his career 🇵🇱@HubertHurkacz defeats Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JFIrQkQO9q
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2021
There was some controversy about the match being suspended due to rain on Monday, since it could have been moved to a court with a roof — something that has been done in the past. But Medvedev had no problem with it. During his postgame news conference, he was more concerned about how poorly he played.
Medvedev said he had no issue with the scheduling yesterday. His only issue was losing to Hurkacz.
(The only real screw-up yesterday, I think, was putting FAA-Zverev on before Raducanu-Tomljanovic.)#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/hvDMIsBavR— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 6, 2021
"When you're second in the world, fourth round is a really bad result. It's a bad result. That's it." -Daniil Medvedev#Wimbledon
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 6, 2021
Karolina Pliskova breezes through to semifinals
No. 8 seed Karolina Pliskova had no problem handling Viktorija Golubic, beating her 6-2, 6-2 to get through to her first-ever Wimbledon semifinals.
When the match started, it looked like it was going to be fairly competitive. Pliskova and Golubic were tied 2-2 after four games, but that's when Pliskova caught on fire. She won seven straight games — four to close out the first set, three to start the second set — and started making some incredible shots.
Pliskova on wheels. Good pickup. #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/HAcLY4DIAh
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) July 6, 2021
Pliskova is dominating out there. Winning the type of points she usually doesn't. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/z93FVhy05n
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) July 6, 2021
Down 3-0 in the second set, Golubic made a bit of a stand. She took two of the next three games and was poised to take another, but Pliskova, who hasn't lost a single set at Wimbledon, regained her footing and took the next two games to seal her straight-sets victory.
Pliskova, in her first Wimbledon quarterfinal, played like a woman possessed. And that may not be a coincidence. Her 230-week run in the WTA top-10 ended just before Wimbledon, with her ranking falling to No. 13. The last time she fell out of the WTA top-10 was 2016, and soon after she went all the way to the U.S. Open final. Pliskova looks ready to take it all the way once again.
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