Aryna Sabalenka continued her magnificent 2023 season with another trip to a Grand Slam semifinal.
The world No.2 overpowered the formidably-powerful Madison Keys to progress to the last four at Wimbledon, in her second straight visit to the All England Club.
Her 6-2 6-4 win over Keys means Sabalenka improves to 17-1 at the majors this year.
She is the first player since Serena Williams in 2016 to reach the semifinal stage at the first three majors in a single season.
The reigning Australian Open champion has now reached four consecutive major semifinals – she also did so at the 2022 US Open – and hopes to atone for her result at Roland Garros, where she was a point away from back-to-back major finals.
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“It feels amazing. I'm super happy to be back in the semifinals. Really looking forward for my semifinals match,” said Sabalenka, who faces Ons Jabeur for a place in her first Wimbledon final.
“I want to do a little bit better than I did last time here (smiling).”
The “last time” she references is Wimbledon 2021, a tournament at which she achieved a breakthrough. It was the first time she surpassed the fourth-round stage of a major, and she went all the way to the semis – where she fell in three tight sets to Karolina Pliskova.
The semifinal round has gone on to become something of a stumbling block for the Belarusian. Aside from AO 2023, she has lost four of her five appearances at this point.
Yet with her victory over Keys, she has now won her first six major quarterfinals, something only Ann Jones and Chris Evert have achieved in the Open Era.
This is further proof Sabalenka has infused her high-octane game with an impressive consistency.
And this consistency has put her on the brink of another glittering milestone.
Should she win her semifinal against Jabeur, she would become the new world No.1, snapping Iga Swiatek’s 67-week reign at the top.
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“I want both,” Sabalenka smiled when asked whether the Wimbledon title or top ranking was more important to her.
“But I'm trying to focus on myself because I know if I'll start thinking about all this stuff, I'm going to lose my focus on court, my game.
“So I'm trying to focus on myself right now and make sure that every time I'm on the court I bring my best tennis.
“Then later on we'll see if I'm ready to become world No.1 or if I'm ready to play another final.”