Ukrainian wildcard Elina Svitolina takes on unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova within the semifinals of The Championships Wimbledon 2023 on the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.
The match is scheduled to be first of the three matches on Centre Court on the eleventh day of this yr’s version.
When and the place to observe?
The semifinal conflict between Elina Svitolina and Marketa Vondrousova will probably be telecast stay on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports Select and stay streaming will probably be accessible on Disney+Hotstar. The match will begin at 6 PM IST.
Former World No. 3 Svitolina has reached her first Wimbledon semifinal since 2019 after a giant-killing run. The Ukrainian, who got here again to Tour-level tennis in Charleston after a year-long absence on account of maternity go away, has knocked out 4 Major winners – Venus Williams (first spherical), Sofia Kenin (third spherical), Victoria Azarenka (spherical of 16) and Iga Swiatek (quarterfinals) at The Championships this yr.
The 28-year-old Svitolina notably impressed throughout her final two matches. She confirmed nice willpower in outlasting Azarenka within the spherical of 16 earlier than upsetting World No. 1 Iga Swiatek by constantly exposing the Pole’s forehand within the last-eight fixture.
Under her new coach Raemon Sluiter, the Ukrainian participant had already reached the French Open quarterfinals final month together with her extra aggressive sport in her first Grand Slam submit giving beginning to daughter Skai. However, her efficiency at Wimbledon is ready to be one of many largest tales of the season.
Unlike Svitolina, Vondrousova has gained a Grand Slam semifinal earlier than – on the 2019 French Open. She misplaced to now retired Ash Barty within the last and had by no means made a deep run on the Major since then.
World No. 14 Vondrousova didn’t drop a set in her first three rounds, which included victories over twelfth seed Veronika Kudermetova and twentieth seed Donna Vekic.
The 24-year-old Vondrousova trailed for the primary time in her round-of-16 match towards compatriot Marie Bouzkova however managed to drive a comeback. But her hardest match turned out to be the quarterfinal towards fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula. Left-handed Vondrousova took the opening set 6-4 however dropped the second 6-2 and was 1-4 behind within the decider when she began hammering winners after winners to reel off 5 straight video games and ended Pegula’s problem.
Triumph for Svitolina would make her the primary Ukrainian girl to achieve a Grand Slam last within the Open period and solely the second wildcard in historical past after Goran Ivanisevic (2001) to progress to the summit conflict on the grass Major.
With a win, Vondrousova would be part of Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova on the checklist of Czech girls finalists at Wimbledon.
Head-to-head report
Played: 5 | Svitolina: 3 | Vondrousova: 2
The head-to-head report between Svitolina and Vondrousova stands at 3-2 within the Ukrainian’s favour. However, this would be the first time they’ll face one another at a Grand Slam.
YEAR | TOURNAMENT | ROUND | WINNER | SCORE |
2021 | OLYMPICS | SEMIFINAL | VONDROUSOVA | 6-3, 6-1 |
2020 | ITALIAN OPEN | QUARTERFINAL | VONDROUSOVA | 6-3, 6-0 |
2019 | INDIAN WELLS MASTERS | QUARTERFINAL | SVITOLINA | 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
2018 | STUTTGART OPEN | SECOND ROUND | SVITOLINA | 2-6, 6-1, 3-2, retd. |
2018 | QATAR OPEN | SECOND ROUND | SVITOLINA | 6-2, 6-4 |
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com