Swiatek saves two match points to reach quarters

Iga Swiatek saved two match points to reach her first Wimbledon quarter-final yesterday, battling back to beat Belinda Bencic 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
The Polish world number one had reached the fourth round without losing a set but faced a tough battle against the Swiss 14th seed on Centre Court.
Swiatek was unable to capitalise on any of the six break points on offer in the first set, looking increasingly rattled and gesturing towards her coaching team.
Bencic, the Olympic champion, raced into a 6-1 lead in the tie-break, snuffing out Swiatek’s mini-comeback to take control of the match. Swiatek, who had looked pleadingly towards her coaching staff, disappeared off court with a notebook in hand, searching for a workable game plan. She returned to the court with a spring in her step and broke at her first opportunity, only for the tenacious Bencic to return the favour in the sixth game.
Swiatek appeared to be on the brink of a shock exit when she ballooned a backhand long to hand Bencic two match points at 15-40 in the 12th game.
But the top seed saved them both, forcing a tie-break, which she won easily to level the match. The four-time Grand Slam champion broke in the fourth game of the decider and then held to stretch her lead to 4-1. She was made to work for her win but eventually served out to take the third set 6-3 and seal the match.
Earlier, Andrey Rublev held his nerve to beat Alexander Bublik in a five-set thriller and reach his first quarter-final yesterday after squandering a two-set lead. The Russian seventh seed was not broken once in the whole match on Centre Court as he avenged his defeat in last month’s Halle final, winning 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-7 (5/7), 6-4.
Rublev, who needed medical treatment for a cut finger early in the match, was gifted the opener when Kazakh 23rd seed Bublik double-faulted twice in the 12th game. A single break in the sixth game of the second set proved decisive as Rublev established an iron grip on the match. Neither player was able to force a break in the third set, which went to a tie-break, with Bublik squandering three set points before unleashing a vicious forehand passing shot to claw his way back into the contest.
Rublev appeared to be on the cusp of victory when he carved out two match points in the 10th game of the fourth set but Bublik saved them both with some impressive serving and came out on top again in the tie-break.
The players settled back into their rhythm on serve in the decider but Rublev forced the crucial break in the seventh game, letting out a gutteral roar. He produced an astonishing diving forehand to set up match point and sealed the win with an ace.
“It was the most lucky shot ever,” said Rublev, referring to his breathtaking effort. “It was luck, nothing else. I don’t think I can do it one more time.”
He said he kept believing the chances would come even though Bublik was so strong on serve throughout the match. “I was just thinking it doesn’t matter, I lost the third set and fourth set,” he added. “I said if I keep playing I would have one chance, and in the end I had it, played a really good volley and was able to break him.
“Every set I had chances, on match point he served full power. I kept thinking just keep playing, don’t start to explode before the match is over. In the end I was able to make it.”
Rublev, who fired 21 aces to Bublik’s 39, will next face the winner of the match between seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. Italian eighth seed Jannik Sinner reached his second successive quarter-final with a straight-sets victory over Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan.
Sinner came through 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-3 and will take on 92nd-ranked Roman Safiullin of Russia for a place in the semi-finals. The 21-year-old Italian fired 42 winners with 12 aces past the 85th-ranked Galan, who mounted a stirring defensive display. He saved the first 14 break points he faced and 17 of 20 in the entire match. Galan even broke for the first time in the second set to lead 2-0 but was unable to maintain the brief momentum as Sinner broke twice to open a two-set lead.
The Italian raced to a 5-2 lead in the third set. Galan, playing in the last 16 of a major for the first time, saved match points in the eighth game but the tie was over when he hit a backhand long in the following game. Last year, Sinner squandered a two-set lead to lose in five against e Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile Mirra Andreeva’s fairytale season continued as the 16-year-old Russian reached the fourth round, defeating 22nd-seeded compatriot Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 7-5.
“Even if I wanted to show my emotions I couldn’t because I was out of breath on every point,” said Andreeva, who came through qualifying and is making her tournament debut.
The teenager had to battle hard in the second set, coming back from 1-4 down before squandering seven break points in the ninth game.
But she held her nerve to break Potapova in the 11th game before securing victory when her opponent buried an overhead into the net. Andreeva arrived at Wimbledon having made a run to the third round at the French Open, also out of qualifying, and will shoot up the rankings after Wimbledon, her first grass-court event on the main tour.