Swiss tennis star, Belinda Bencic, said that her dream has been fulfilled after achieving her first-ever semi-final appearance at Wimbledon with a victory over Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva, finishing the match 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) on Wednesday.
The former Olympic champion is experiencing her best performance at the All England Club just over a year after giving birth. At 28 years old, she welcomed her daughter Bella in April 2024 and has already climbed to rank 35 in the world following her return from maternity leave.
“It’s crazy, it’s unbelievable. It’s a dream come true. I tried not to think about it at the match point. I’m just speechless,” Bencic said.
Wimbledon seems to be manageable for Bencic this year, as she successfully defeated Andreeva in a thrilling quarter-final match lasting just over two hours on Centre Court.
Bencic, once ranked as high as fourth in the world, will face five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek for a chance to reach Saturday’s final.
Previously, Bencic’s only other appearance in a Grand Slam semi-final ended in defeat at the US Open in 2019, two years before she secured gold in singles at the Tokyo Olympics.
She has become the first Swiss woman to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals since Martina Hingis did so 27 years ago, after having not advanced beyond the last 16 in her previous eight tournaments in southwest London.
The 18-year-old Andreeva, a rising talent on the WTA Tour, is the youngest woman to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.
With the guidance of former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, the young Russian smoothly progressed through the first four rounds without losing a set.
Andreeva noted that she was so absorbed in the match during her fourth-round encounter with Emma Navarro that she didn’t even realise she had won on match point.
However, Bencic also maintained her focus and overcame a painful cracked toenail during the second set to secure her remarkable victory.