Tennis: Vondrousova battles through roller-coaster clash with Pegula to reach semis

The Czech came through a topsy-turvy encounter on Court One against the fourth seed to book a clash with either world number one Iga Swiatek of Poland or Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

The first set was a whirlwind with five breaks of serve in nine games, the momentum swinging wildly while many spectators were still taking their seats under sunny skies.

However, it was 24-year-old Vondrousova who secured the crucial break at 4-4 when a baseline rally ended with Pegula sending a backhand long.

The Czech brought up set point with an ace and duly held to love as she eyed a first Grand Slam semi-final since her runner-up finish at the French Open in 2019.

The twists and turns kept coming, though, as Pegula began finding her range in the second set. She began approaching the net more often with great success, breaking her left-handed opponent early en route to taking a 4-1 lead. The American broke again at 5-2 with an excellent low volley to level the match, as 42nd ranked Vondrousova struggled with her shot placement despite being the more powerful hitter from the baseline. In the decider, momentum looked to be staying with the 29-year-old Pegula as she saved three break points in the first three games and then broke Vondrousova by forcing her long.

But there was still time for one final twist. The roof was closed, as rain was expected, and when play resumed Vondrousva broke back twice more, as well as breaking her opponent’s resistance from the baseline in a terrific game to lead 5-4.

She served out the match to book her semi-final spot, becoming the third woman in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon last four after defeating four seeded opponents – after Zheng Jie in 2008 and Barbora Strycova in 2019.

“It was very tough and just an amazing feeling … I never played here on court number one. It’s amazing. I just wanted to stay as long as I could and fought until the end and I’m just so happy. I cannot believe it, actually,” she said on court.

For Pegula, it was another quarter-final heartbreak, having never gone beyond the last eight at a Grand Slam.