| Venue: All England Club Dates: 3-16 July |
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Top seed Iga Swiatek saved two match points to fend off Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in thrilling fashion to reach a first Wimbledon quarter-final.
The Polish world number one was on the brink of losing out to Bencic’s high-risk strategy before recovering to win 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.
Swiatek, seeking a fifth Grand Slam title, faces Elina Svitolina next after the Ukrainian beat Victoria Azarenka.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula also made the last eight for the first time.
The American put in a dominant display to beat Ukrainian world number 60 Lesia Tsurenko 6-1 6-3.
If that was a straightforward victory, then Swiatek’s was anything but as Swiss 14th seed Bencic repeatedly dug herself out of trouble in remarkable style.
Bencic had got off to a poor start, only her incredible ability to save break points – all six of six – was keeping her in a first set where Swiatek was unwavering on her own serve.
But she raced to a 5-1 lead in the tie-break before getting a taste of her own medicine as Swiatek pulled it back to 6-4 but the Pole then hit long to give away her first set of the tournament.
Swiatek took a bathroom break at the end of the first set, taking a notebook with her, and when she returned it looked as if the notes had provided her with some answers as she immediately broke.
But, as she showed so many times in that first set, Bencic pulls out her best tennis at the right times.
The Swiss got the break back as Swiatek seemed to tighten up in the sixth game of the second and she continued the momentum to create two match points at 6-5.
But just at the moment when she needed it most, that ability to win the crucial points deserted her as she failed to return a deep shot from Swiatek, who then hit a winner on the next point to shut down the danger.
Swiatek then took charge of the resulting tie-break – in what was the first time the Pole, often known for her one-sided wins, has been taken to two tie-breaks in a match.
Bencic had a chance to go a break up in the third game of the third set but netted what proved to be her last chance to lead the world number one.
Swiatek broke in the next game for a 4-1 lead and there would be no more great escapes for Bencic, who finally succumbed when Swiatek hit a brilliant forehand cross-court winner on her first match point with three hours and three minutes on the clock.
“It wasn’t easy obviously, I don’t even know if that happened in my career where I came back from match point down,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview.
“I feel like I needed that win to believe in myself a little bit more on this surface.”
More to follow.
