Sabalenka gets past Siegemund to reach Wimbledon semifinals - ESPN

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.

Sabalenka, No. 1 since last October, 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 US Open once, and she was the runner-up at this year's Australian Open (losing to Madison Keys) and French Open (losing to Coco Gauff).

Sabalenka attributed her win Tuesday to learning to control her emotions, referencing the final at Roland Garros where she took the first set against Gauff but lost after making 70 unforced errors.

«I think there's a big possibility that I would have lost this match if I didn't learn that lesson at the French Open,» Sabalenka said. «In some moments I just… kept reminding myself, 'Come on, it's the quarterfinal of Wimbledon, you cannot give up, you cannot let the emotions just take over you and lose another match.'»

The 27-year-old Belarusian lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023. On Thursday, she will get a third chance in that round. Sabalenka will meet No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova as she looks to join Venus Williams as the only active women to reach the final at all four major tournaments

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 as an unorthodox as that of the 37-year-old Siegemund.

The German, who eliminated No. 6 Keys last week, was the oldest woman in the quarterfinals, as well as the one with the fewest career titles (two).

She arrived at Wimbledon