Wimbledon News: Simona Halep defeats Amanda Anisimova to set up a semifinal matchup with Elena Rybakina

The 2019 champion has entered her third semi-final at the All England Club after securing a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Amanda Anisimova of the United States. Having missed the 2021 edition due to a calf injury, Halep remarked that she is playing her best tennis. "I am trying to build my confidence back, and it's good," she added. The Romanian 16th seed, who also won the French Open in 2018, broke Anisimova's serve four times in the match. 

The 30-year-old showed dominance early in the match, taking a 5-1 lead and winning the set 6-2. The second set followed suit, with Halep again taking charge and going 5-1 up with a double break. Anisimova earned her break of serve when Halep served for the match, but the Romanian maintained her composure and emerged as the winner. She has not dropped a set this year at Wimbledon and talks about staying firm on her legs which helped her win the match by serving well. 

Elena Rybakina fought back to reach the semis.

Elena Rybakina reached her first Grand Slam semi-final after putting on a powerful show involving 15 aces to brush past Tomljanovic, a quarterfinalist, in 2021. Elena outclassed Ajla Tomljanovic in a grueling three-setter 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Court 1. The 23-year-old Moscow-born also became the first player from her country to qualify for a Grand Slam semi-final. She lost the first set and resurfaced to get past her opponent. Consequently, she won five out of nine break points compared to Tomljanovic's three out of eight. After the match, she admitted she started slowly due to weak service. She also entertained that she could've been nervous because of her opponent's steely defense. 

Rybakina switched her nationality in 2018. She now identifies as a Kazakh, which proved to be lucky considering how Russia and Belarus were banned from the tournament. Rybakina has made the most out of it so far, and in her recent match, she secured a triple break in the second set to equalise the score. Despite being broken when serving for the match in the seventh game of the third set, she sealed her victory in the ninth game with an ace. She will face Simona Halep in the semi-final, marking their fourth meeting, with the Romanian leading the score 2-1. In their last meeting at the 2021 US Open, Halep defeated her in the third round.