World No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s path to the Wimbledon quarterfinals got a lot tougher on Sunday, but the top seed accomplished the career first by surviving two match points to defeat Belinda Bencic.
Swiatek of Poland lost the first set to the No. 14 Bencic of Switzerland before emerging with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek had lost just 13 games in her first three matches in London, beating Petra Martic, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Zhu Lin.
Swiatek had let six break points slip away en route to losing the first set, when Bencic won the tie-break 7-4.
In the second set, Swiatek saved two match points in her final service game, then crushed Bencic in the tie-break 7-2. The third set was less of a challenge.
Swiatek will play wild card Elina Svitolina in the final eight. The Ukrainian, in her comeback since April from a year-long maternity leave, defeated 19th seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9) to make the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.
“I think after giving birth to our daughter, this is the second-happiest moment for in my life,” Svitolina said on court after the match.
The dramatic match, between the last two mothers remaining in the field after six had started, lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes.
“I cannot complain,” Svitolina said. “I have to fight and try to win every single point and, in the end, here I am. I won the match.”
Svitolina improved to 1-5 in her career against Azarenka, a former World No. 1.
Swiatek defeated Svitolina in their only previous meeting on clay at the 2021 Rome quarterfinals, 6-2, 7-5.
American Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, advanced to her first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
“That was great. … I came out playing really well, exactly how I wanted to play, and I was just trying to ride that momentum as well as I could,” Pegula said in a courtside interview.
Russian teen Mirra Andreeva knocked off No. 22 Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5. Andreeva, 16, is making her debut at the All England Club and became the youngest player since Coco Gauff in 2019 to advance to the fourth round. She has played a total of six matches on grass (three in qualifying, three in the main draw).
“I came back from 1-4, so of course I feel great,” Andreeva said. “Today, honestly, even if I wanted to show some emotions, I honestly, I couldn’t because I was out of breath almost every point. I really couldn’t show any emotions.”
In another upset, Marketa Vondrousova overcame 44 unforced errors and losing the first set to eliminate fellow Czech and No. 32 seed Marie Bouzkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Vondrousova next faces Pegula, who is 0-5 in major quarterfinals. Andreeva will play No. 25 Madison Keys.
–Field Level Media