Swiatek gets 'goosebumps' after reaching first Wimbledon semi-final

Iga Swiatek said she had "goosebumps" after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in her illustrious career with a 6-2, 7-5 win against Russia's Liudmila Samsonova on Wednesday.

The Polish eighth seed will face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva or former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic for a place in Saturday's final.

Swiatek has won four titles on the clay at the French Open, as well as the US Open in 2022, but has struggled on the lawns of the All England Club.

Her previous best result at Wimbledon was a run to the quarter-finals in 2023.

Swiatek dominated the first set against 19th seed Samsonova on Court One but was made to battle in the second set before wrapping up victory in one hour and 49 minutes.

"It feels great. Even though I'm in the middle of the tournament I've already got goosebumps after this win. I'm super happy and super proud of myself and I'll keep going," she said.

"Honestly, I've really enjoyed playing this year and hopefully it's going to last as long as possible. 

"For sure I feel like I really worked hard to progress here on this surface."

Swiatek broke twice in the opening set to take a firm grip on the match, benefiting from a flurry of unforced errors from her opponent and winning 100 percent of her points on first serve.

Two double faults from the Russian 19th seed handed Swiatek an early break in the second set and she snuffed out a clutch of break points in the following game to go 3-0 up.

The 24-year-old was pegged back as her level dipped and Samsonova pulled level at 4-4.

But Swiatek regrouped and broke again to seal the win, finishing off her opponent with a fierce forehand winner.

The former world No 1 has gone under the radar at this year's Wimbledon as most of the other top women's seeds have tumbled, though world number one Aryna Sabalenka is still standing.

After slipping down the rankings, she is now back in the world's top four having reaching the Bad Homburg final on grass last month.

Swiatek, a former Wimbledon junior champion, lost in the semi-finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic reached her first Wimbledon semi-final with a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/2) win against Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday.

Former Olympic champion Bencic is enjoying her best run at the All England Club just over a year after giving birth.

The 28-year-old had her daughter Bella in April 2024, but has already risen back up to 35 in the world since returning from maternity leave.

Wimbledon seems to be child's play for Bencic this year and she dispatched Andreeva in two hours and eight minutes of enthralling quarter-final action on Centre Court.

Bencic, a former world number four, will face five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for a place in the final.

Bencic's only other Grand Slam last four appearance ended in defeat at the US Open in 2019, two years before she won singles gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

She is the first Swiss female semi-finalist at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis 27 years ago, having failed to make it past the last 16 in her previous eight visits to south-west London.

The rising star of the WTA Tour, 18-year-old Andreeva was the youngest women's Wimbledon quarter-finalist since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.

Under the wing of former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez, Andreeva had breezed impressively through the first four rounds without dropping a set.

Andreeva said she was so focused on each point during her fourth-round tie against Emma Navarro that she did not realise when she won on match-point.

But Bencic proved equally locked in and the Swiss veteran took the first set in a tense tie-break.

The second set was equally hard-fought, with break-points saved by both players before Bencic broke in the ninth game.

Bencic had asked for the trainer to come on court at the end of the game to deal with a cracked toe nail, but changed her mind with a memorable victory within touching distance.

Whether it was the foot issue or the pressure of serving for the match, Bencic got within two points of winning but was unable to finish the job as Andreeva broke back.

That set up another tie-break, with Bencic visibly hobbling between points but somehow summoning up the will-power to seal the win with a booming forehand.