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So we can only wait for tomorrow’s male semis. We’ll get away with Djokovic against Norrie, which of course could be a blast; if Norrie brings her Goffin game, she absolutely will. But if you find your best level or approach it, your combination of turn, power, and left angle can cause some problems, though probably not enough.
Nadal, meanwhile, seems unlikely to be 100% fit, but his right and his tricks will continue with him. He will have to play better than against Fritz, injured or not, because Kyrgios is doing so well that he is unlikely to find many opportunities to break, although once the points are in place, Nadal has many more weapons to finish them off.
That is, a Djokovic-Christmas final ten seems the most likely outcome, but if this Wimbledon has reminded us of anything it is that we play because we don’t know what will happen.
Anyway, that’s all for me: join us again tomorrow and over the weekend for the amazing outcome. Pau!
Our first semi report:
Here is our report on the second semi …
I guess Jabeur can get closer to balance with Rybakina’s power, but I also think he’s more likely to feel the pressure and his game has more moving parts – he needs to feel comfortable playing well because he does a lot. unusual things, while Rybakina can only hold on and deliver. we will see!
At this point, it’s easy to look at the confrontation and break it down; for me, if Jabeur plays really well, he will win, but if they both play 80% I think Rybakina’s power carries him, except that he doesn’t take that into account. of which, if any, the nerves are felt. We have no idea how this will be shaken because they both hesitated, Jabeur in the semifinals and Rybakina in the quarterfinals. But if you’re pressuring me, that you don’t, I’m going with Rybakina.
If the two finalists play on Saturday as they did today, Rybakina will win easily. But the sport, no matter women’s tennis, is rarely like that, and Jabeur’s ability to pick up the pace of the ball, evoking creative angles and puzzling twists, means it will be harder for his opponent to stand up and shoot. It should be an absolute belt, and we will get another new Grand Slam champion.
Rybakina says Halep is a great champion and that she was very focused today, playing “very solid”: solid as a cruise missile is solid. She thinks she got used to the big track atmosphere yesterday, so today she wasn’t so nervous, and when she asked us to tell us how well she played, she modestly settled for “very very well”. He thinks it will be a great final against Jabeur and his drop shots, and he wants to have fun on the court. I’ll bet.
Elena Rybakina shakes hands with Simona Halep after going through sets in a row. Photography: Adrian Dennis / AFP / Getty Images
Updated at 17.42 BST
It was an absolute performance by Rybakina, who found his best level in his first semi-final: there he burned Halep off the court, as he thought Tomljanovic would do yesterday, and what match he should have with Jabeur.
Elena Rybakina [17] superior Simona Halep [16] 6-3 6-3!
Rybakina 6-3 5-3 * Halep (* indicates server) Beautiful work on the Rybakina network, defending and lengthening a go go Gadget arm to prevent a volley. I once spoke to an agent on behalf of a young player and the first question he asked me was how tall he is; Rybakina makes 6 ”0 and helps. Anyway, we get to 40-30 … and I’m sorry to say, but you can probably guess what happens after Halep commits a foul; yes she does network. And, to make matters worse, she slides with a right hand, then Rybakina makes a comeback and ELENA RYBAKINA IS IN THE WIMBLEDON FINAL AT 23!
Elena Rybakina celebrates after dominating Simona Halep to reach the final on Saturday. Photo: Matthew Childs / Reuters
Updated at 17.17 BST
* Rybakina 6-3 5-3 Halep (* indicates server) New balls arrive and Rybakina doesn’t waste time as they age, a booming right kick in the right corner sends Halep to chase her, then when it sends it and runs towards the center, another of equivalent power is crushed in the same place. I think this is the best I’ve seen playing Rybakina, but with the 30-0 Halep attacks a second serve as has been done all afternoon, this is more like … so a giant high kick service is escapes by 40-15. Halep does 40-30, but another ace, also Rybakina’s fastest service of the day, secures control and she is flying, one game from the final.
Rybakina 6-3 4-3 * Halep (* indicates server) Nice Halep, right-footed by 15-0, then Rybakina runs into the net but can’t slide his volley backwards on the court. That’s good for Halep, not words I’ve written so far today, and more gun-quality directs ensure what looks like his first love take on the party.
* Rybakina 6-3 4-2 Halep (* indicates server) Yes, maybe that. Rybakina hits an ace for the T, and if this last service game constituted his suffocation, Halep is in big trouble. Another ace follows the 15-all, then a service winner out, then another ace that rolls, and Rybakina is two games away! This was done brilliantly!
Photography: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
Updated at 17.01 BST
Rybakina 6-3 3-2 * Halep (* indicates server) This break didn’t come until it arrived, and it didn’t happen for anything from Halep. Maybe Rybakina was thinking about the end, or maybe he lost focus, but suddenly he’s not as good as before he can’t build another double, Halep’s seventh, which gives him 15-all. But an indicative setback cross makes it 30, then a booming setback makes it easier to fall, and while Halep recovers well, simple storage means it’s about to break. And again, perhaps nervous about what will happen to his second service, he nails a weak one to the net, and this unlikely break is achieved immediately.
* Rybakina 6-3 2-2 Halep (* indicates server) Hello! Out of nowhere, and with some sudden negligence of his rival, Halep scores the 0-30, then a cut back holds the ball and Rybakina thrashes it out. Three break points Halep, he first of the match … and Rybakina throws away again. Halep has returned to the set simply thanks to his return!
Simona Halep breaks the game to equalize the set. Photography: Steven Paston / PA
Updated at 16.55 BST
Rybakina 6-3 2-1 * Halep (* indicates server) Nice from Halep, a backhand from the inside out, hit from below, giving him 15-0, and a chase into the net for a drop, returned well, doing 30. She holds on at 15 and needed it, though in communications, Caroline Wozniacki points out that her best hope is to keep in touch and wait for her nerves to “crawl” – what a beautiful picture she is – closer to the finish line.
* Rybakina 6-3 2-0 Halep (* indicates server) Halep has nothing for Rybakina, who just needs to keep the heid to win; it just doesn’t seem like your opponent can fabricate a strategy to change the flow. Rybakina holds 30, but again there is no real suggestion other than a break if in attack.
Rybakina 6-3 1-0 * Halep (* indicates server) Before Halep played yesterday, Calvin Betton, our resident coach, sent an email to tell him that he liked Anisimova because if he played well, the differential of power would be too much. Well, she didn’t, but the match he thought we’d see yesterday we see today; if he’s looking, I dare say the American wonders what it could have been, though anyway he’s probably given the attacks he gave when he started hitting him right in the end. Anyway, two bad second services help Rybakina to do 30-all, Halep is absolutely monstrously in this aspect, and here he is again, a colossal right on the corner of the reverse that facilitates a cleaning volley stuck to the right for two. It follows a double over his lead, Halep’s fourth, and the second play is revealing, the move has almost been aborted before its end to allow him to prepare for the coup he knows is coming for the return. And, well, oh dear; We go back to the two for the second time, and then Halep makes consecutive doubles, that is, three in the game, to give the break meekly! Rybakina is absolutely cruising!
Updated at 16.43 BST
* Rybakina 6-3 Halep (* indicates server) Rybakina doesn’t look nervous, he opens the match with an ace, his first of the match, then makes another Delpo flat and cross right kick, with a contemptuous ease. She didn’t play like that, or anything like that, yesterday, and shonuff hit an ace to raise three points from seven. Halep doesn’t leave, however, he picks up the pace to hit a live winner and then hit the line for 40-30. But then a live long falls, and Rybakina grabs the set, looking very strong in doing so. Halep has to get something, and quickly.
Elena Rybakina takes the first one in an impressive way. Photography: Steven Paston / PA
Updated at 16.35 BST
Rybakina 5-3 * Halep (* indicates server) Serving to stay in the set, Halep has the reverse tried, but comes 15-0, then hits a reverse winner on the line, this is probably his best shot up now. But the consistency is not there and she marks one live … then another! The old Halep would be right now with her feelings, but the double Grand Slam champion Halep has a greater equanimity … so of course, as I write this, she serves a double, giving Rybakina the seven point. then saves him by cunning drop. From there, control is quickly secured, but it has faced a breaking point in all service games so far, so it needs to improve on that, but in the meantime, it needs a break to stay thirsty.
* Rybakina 5-2 Halep (* indicates server) Halep has not lost at Wimbledon since winning the title in 2019 – crown and injuries intervened in the following years – but Rybakina’s power …