- Ukrainian wildcard defeated 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court
- Vondrousova to play Jabeur or Sabalenka in Saturday’s final
Here’s a stat for you: this was the first time two unseeded women (“ladies”) have reached a Wimbledon semi-final in the Open era. But only one of those women is from a country currently ravaged by war. Perhaps it was understandable then, that the vast majority of the Centre Court crowd was rooting for Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian with the best rhyming name in tennis, who until recently had been on maternity leave. But her dream of reaching a final was not to be. It was far from being, in fact, as she was largely blown off the court by Marketa Vondrousova, 6-3, 6-3 .
The two had met five times previously, with Vondrousova triumphing in their last meeting at the Tokyo Olympics. But overall, Svitolina led 3-2 in their head to head prior to this match.