Bencic edges Andreeva in two tiebreaks to reach Wimbledon semifinals
Belinda Bencic's comeback from maternity leave took another massive step forward on Wednesday at Wimbledon, as the former Top 10 player ousted No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva in a pair of tiebreaks to reach her second career Grand Slam semifinal.
Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws
The 28-year-old Swiss needed 2 hours and 7 minutes to score her 38th career Top 10 win -- but just her second at Wimbledon -- to match her deepest-ever run at a Grand Slam event. In her first meeting with Andreeva, who is 10 years her junior, the former World No. 4 lost serve only once -- and it came when she first attempted to seal victory at 5-4 in the second set.
"I stayed brave and stuck to the plan," said Bencic of those clutch moments.
"What I did is just studied her a lot last night to see some patterns and some things she's doing," she added. "I felt like I was prepared to play today because I haven't played her in a match before. Didn't really know how that would feel like, so I'm happy with the game plan I came up with."
Back to the business end: Bencic's first major semifinal -- a loss to Bianca Andreescu at the 2019 US Open -- came five years and 309 days ago, making her run to the last four at The Championships the fifth-longest gap between Grand Slam semifinals in the Open Era.
The Swiss, who reached that stage in New York as a 23-year-old, has lived several lifetimes since then. That includes her maternity leave from top-level tennis -- but after giving birth to daughter Bella last year, Bencic says that the more things have changes, the more they've remained the same when it's come to rising to the occasion.
"I think it's just really natural at this point," she said. "It's not something that takes away my focus. Sometimes I think it's even better when I'm not too focused.
"I don't feel so nervous before the match, and I'm just doing what I have to do. It's not something that is calculated, I would say. It's just very natural. I am able to switch on when I'm on the court and be focused."
Opposite Iga again at SW19: Standing between Bencic and a first-ever Grand Slam final is another player into the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time: No. 8 seed Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek is 3-1 against Bencic, but their last meeting was their closest. And it also came at Wimbledon. Two years ago in the fourth round, Bencic led Swiatek when the latter was World No. 1 by a set -- and had two match points -- before losing 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3.
"I'm really excited for this match," Bencic said. "I think we've had some good matches in the past. Obviously, she's a player with a lot of quality, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to play her again. I hope I will be prepared as best as I can for tomorrow."