Wimbledon: Elina Svitolina stuns World No.1 Iga Swiatek to reach the semis 

Former World No.3 Elina Svitolina defeated World No.1 Iga Swiatek in three sets and reach her second career semifinal at Wimbledon.

The 2-hour, 50-minute triumph was Svitolina’s seventh career win against a World No.1 and her first since she beat the then top-ranked Simona Halep to win the Internazional BNL d’Italia in Rome in 2018. It was also her fourth win over a major champion this fortnight, as she also defeated Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka.

Playing her second Grand Slam tournament since she returned to tennis in April following the October birth of her daughter, Svitolina is the third wild card to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon, but the first to do so in more than a decade.

The Ukrainian joins China’s Zheng Jie (2008) and Germany’s Sabine Lisicki (2011) in that accomplishment. Though she was ranked No. 76 at the start of Wimbledon, thanks in part to a run to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last month, Svitolina’s ranking was outside the main-draw cutoff at the Wimbledon entry deadline in May.

Semifinal outlook: With Svitolina’s win, an unseeded finalist is guaranteed out of the top half of the draw. She’ll next face Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 Roland Garros finalist ranked No. 43, who upset No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula on No. 1 Court, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.