Swiss mum Bencic through to her first Wimbledon semi-final

LONDON :Switzerland's Belinda Bencic won two tiebreaks to beat teenage Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3) 7-6(2) on Wednesday and become a first-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.

The only mother left in the singles draw had four match points after Andreeva double-faulted in the second tiebreak on Centre Court and needed only the one, sealing victory with a smash at the net.

The first Swiss woman to make it to the last four since Martina Hingis in 1998 will now play Poland's five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for a place in the final.

Andreeva, 18, fired four aces in the opening set to none for Bencic but there was next to nothing between the closely-matched pair until the Russian netted a couple of forehands in the ensuing tiebreak.

Bencic then had two break points at 4-4 in the second set, Andreeva saving one before hitting long to go 5-4 down and leaving the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion to serve for the match.

Andreeva refused to follow the script, however, and broke straight back to 5-5 before going to 6-5 with 28-year-old Bencic, who had her daughter Bella in April last year, then serving to take the match to another tiebreak.

The Swiss raced to a 6-2 lead and wasted no further time with the match already entering its third hour, despite hobbling slightly with what she said later was a cracked toenail.

"It's crazy, it's unbelievable. It's a dream come true," Bencic said.

"I tried not to think about it at the match point. I'm just speechless. It is my second Grand Slam semi-final overall and my first at Wimbledon. Just speechless, so happy," added the 28-year-old.

The sound of a champagne cork popping was something of an omen when it stopped Bencic mid-serve in the second set. She won the point and gave a thumbs up