No. 1 Sabalenka gets past No. 104 Siegemund to reach semifinals; Fritz wins on men's side

Aryna Sabalenka trailed by a set, then twice was down a break in the third before grabbing the last three games to reach the Wimbledon semifinals by overcoming 104th-ranked Laura Siegemund 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 at Centre Court on Tuesday.

"She pushed me so much," said Sabalenka, No. 1 since last October. "After the first set, I was just looking at my box, thinking, `Guys, I mean, book the tickets. I think we're about to leave this beautiful city, country, place.'"

Sabalenka never has been to a title match at the All England Club, the only Grand Slam tournament where that's the case. She won the Australian Open twice and the U.S. Open once, and was the runner-up at this year's Australian Open (losing to Madison Keys) and French Open (losing to Coco Gauff).

The 27-year-old Belarusian lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023.

On Thursday, she gets a third chance in that round. Sabalenka will meet either No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova or 50th-ranked Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the player who was robbed of a point when the electronic line-calling system accidentally was turned off during a Centre Court match.

Sabalenka hadn't dropped a set during this year's trip to the grass-court major until Tuesday — but she also hadn't faced an opponent whose style is quite as an unorthodox as that of the 37-year-old Siegemund.

The German, who eliminated No. 6 Keys last week, was the oldest and by far the lowest-ranked of any woman in the quarterfinals, as well as the one with the fewest career titles (two).

But her ability to change the depth, speed, angles and spins of her shots over and over can frustrate any opponent and dull the type of power that Sabalenka brings to the court. And, make no mistake: Sabalenka was frustrated,