Swiatek ends Tauson's run to fly into quarters, Bencic downs Alexandrova

TimesLIVE

4 days ago

A deluge of double faults dictated early terms before Iga Swiatek found her grass court wings to fly into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a soaring 6-4 6-1 victory over an out-of-sorts Danish 23rd seed Clara Tauson on Monday.
The cold and blustery wind swirling around Court One was clearly not to Swiatek's liking as she opened her account with two double faults en route to dropping her serve to love.
While the former world number one immediately got the break back, her serve kept misfiring as she produced two successive double faults to drop her serve again in the third game.
But from then on the Polish eighth seed barely put a foot wrong in a match that was over in 65 brutal minutes.
'The beginning was pretty shaky with the double faults but I managed to play solid. I'm not sure if Clara was feeling that well, she said she didn't sleep well and I hope she has a good recovery,' Swiatek told the crowd.
'It's never easy to keep your focus. Sometimes when you're not feeling well you let go of everything and it can give you a boost. I hope she's going to be fine.
Feeling good on the court = Feeling good off the court! 🤝 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cHjP1EHbXk
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025
'It's pretty amazing, this is the first time I've ever enjoyed London. Sorry guys, I mean I've always enjoyed it. I feel good on the court when I feel good off the court.'
Swiatek had been prepared to face a barrage of aces from Tauson, who came into the match having served the most aces in this year's women's tournament.
Her tally of 27 aces meant she was averaging an impressive nine per match during her run to the fourth round, which included a win over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina two days ago.
However, instead of adding to her count, Tauson surrendered the first set with a double fault and from then on her game fell apart as Swiatek won eight of the last nine games to reach the last eight for the second time in three years.
Swiatek will face Russia's Liudmila Samsonova for a place in the semifinals.
Switzerland's Belinda Bencic reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal in nine attempts, dismissing 18th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4) 6-4 in just under two hours on a breezy Court One.
Super Swiatek 🇵🇱
The No.8 seed sails through to the QF, beating Clara Tauson 6-4, 6-1 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/mpPsRm2A81
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, 28, shed tears after she finally broke the fourth-round barrier 15 months after giving birth to her daughter Bella and said she felt very proud of herself.
But she needed six match points to down 30-year-old Alexandrova, who just last month beat Bencic with the loss of only three games at the Den Bosch grass court tournament in the Netherlands.
Bencic, who has been knocked out in the fourth round here three times before, said she turned the tide by being more courageous.
'I think I tried to be more brave. I had more matches under my belt and it turned out better than the last time I played her,' she said.
'I always got stuck in the fourth round. It was so important for me to break through to the quarterfinals,' she added.
Alexandrova, who has also never passed the fourth round at the All England Club, blew hot and cold in the first set, dropping two service games before turning on the aggression, improving her second serve and fighting back to force a tiebreak.
But Bencic, calm and businesslike, won four points in a row in the tiebreak and sealed the set after an hour and one minute when Alexandrova sent a backhand long.
Bencic broke Alexandrova's serve in the eighth game of the second set but was unable to capitalise when serving for the match in a mammoth eight-deuce game that lasted some 15 minutes and during which the Russian saved five match points.
But Bencic came fighting back on the Russian's serve with a forehand winner for a sixth match point, converting it when Alexandrova put a forehand long.
The Swiss, ranked 35 but a former world number four, was one of nine mothers in the draw, but the only one to reach the fourth round. She gave birth in April last year and was back playing competitively within six months even reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January 2025.
'I'm really proud of myself and the whole team. We did an amazing job coming back,' she said.
'It's amazing to share the memories together as a family. I'm enjoying it more. I juggle it like every mum does.'