Sabalenka survives to reach last four

There was a rare sight on Centre Court as a frustrated Aryna Sabalenka battled her nerves as much as her opponent in her 11th consecutive grand slam quarter-final.

- Yara El-Shaboury

The world No 1 had reached the last eight without dropping a set but needed a decider to beat Laura Siegemund 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 and book her spot in the semi-finals where she will face the No 13 seed, Amanda Anisimova.

"After the first set, I was looking at my box like: 'Guys, book the tickets. We're about to leave,' Sabalenka said. "I was struggling because she was playing a really smart game. I made a lot of unforced errors - unnecessary ones."

Sabalenka struggled from her first service game with an early double fault. Siegemund troubled the Belarusian with an unreachable backhand drop shot and, despite slipping, a forehand winner to earn her second break point before a cross-court backhand return secured the game.