17th seed Rybakina finds her range to set up Halep semi-final

Thursday, 7 July 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters): Elena Rybakina recovered from a shaky start to overwhelm Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6 6-2 6-3 on Wednesday and set up a Wimbledon semi-final with Simona Halep, becoming the first Kazakhstan player to reach the last four of a Grand Slam.

Rybakina, the 17th seed, struggled in the first set but then started finding her serving range, at one point taking seven games in a row to secure the second set and put her in control of the third.

The 23-year-old, who would not have been allowed to play at this year’s Wimbledon had she not switched allegiance from Russia four years ago, finished the match with an ace - her 15th of the match.

“It’s amazing and I’m really happy that I got through after a really tough match,” she said.