Elena Rybakina overpowered former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep 6-3 6-3 in the last four on Thursday to reach her first major final at the All England Club.
Rybakina is playing in the main draw in SW19 for only the second time, having debuted in 2021.
Yet the Kazakh looks every bit as accomplished on the London grass as the esteemed Halep, who had not lost at Wimbledon since 2018, taking the title in 2019.
Indeed, the Romanian met her match in Rybakina, who forged nine break point opportunities in a dominant display, aided by a flawless serve as Halep gave up a costly nine double-faults.
Despite being one of the game's great returners, Halep found herself on the back foot right from the outset.
She faced break points in each of her four service games in the opener, with a rampant Rybakina decisively seizing the first of them as she dictated play from the back of the court.
Rybakina's power continued to cause problems for Halep, although a trio of double-faults – including to both set up and secure the break point – were to blame as the first-time semi-finalist was gifted an early lead again in the second set.
That advantage was cancelled out in similarly generous fashion, with four straight unforced errors seeing Rybakina unexpectedly broken to love.
However, normal service was swiftly resumed as Rybakina won a sublime rally to tee up another break, and there was time for one final flourish as a sensational return from the 23-year-old left Halep rooted and wrapped up victory in 77 minutes.
Data slam: Simona's semi-final struggles
Losing at Wimbledon may have been an unfamiliar feeling for Halep after 12 straight wins at the tournament, including 10 in straight sets, but she is becoming all too accustomed to failing in the last four.
Excluding walkovers, this was the Romanian's fourth consecutive semi-final defeat. For Rybakina, it was a first win at this stage of any tournament on grass.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Rybakina – 13/16
Halep – 16/15
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Rybakina – 5/0
Halep – 0/9
BREAK POINTS WON
Rybakina – 3/9
Halep – 1/1
Wembanyama seeking recipe for success as record-breaking display fails to halt Spurs slide
Victor Wembanyama vowed the San Antonio Spurs will continue looking for "a good recipe" after his historic performance failed to prevent his team matching their franchise-record losing run.
At 19 years and 38 days old, the first overall draft pick became the youngest player in NBA history to post a 20-20 game, managing 21 points and 20 assists at home to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
However, that performance was not enough to prevent a 121-112 defeat as the Bulls rallied after the interval, with Patrick Williams, Demar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White all managing 20 points or more for Chicago.
San Antonio has now tied their all-time record losing streak of 16 games, while their 3-18 record is the worst they have ever managed through 21 games of a season.
Wembanyama – whose 20-20 game came when he was four days younger than previous record holder Dwight Howard – says it is still a case of trial and error after he starred from the center position against the Bulls.
"Experimenting in different areas of the game is always something important and interesting to me," Wembanyama said.
"Every game is different, but we're going to see and try until we find a good recipe.
"When our opponents are down at half, of course they're going to try and have a reaction. We've got to expect that every time, because our first half was pretty solid, especially defensively.
"There are ups and downs during the game, but we've got to get our downs less and less."
San Antonio's losing steak still stands three games short of that being endured by the Detroit Pistons, who are 2-20 after going down by a 123-91 scoreline against the Orlando Magic, their 19th straight loss.
Franz Wagner scored 27 points and Paolo Banchero added 24 for Orlando, with the Pistons now enduring the longest single-season losing streak in their franchise history and their second-longest overall.
Detroit previously lost 21 in a row across the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81.
Though Pistons coach Monty Williams acknowledged the 15-7 Magic are a tough nut to crack defensively, he wasn't happy with his team's offensive efforts.
"They're a good defensive team but we missed a lot of open shots," Williams said after the defeat.
"They take away the paint, force you to play outside. We generated only 30 threes and just didn't hit a good percentage. We just had a hard time putting the ball in the basket tonight."
Chris Evert set for more chemotherapy as cancer returns
Chris Evert has announced her cancer has returned and she will undergo another round of chemotherapy.
The 18-time grand slam champion revealed in January 2022 she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer following a preventive hysterectomy.
Evert had learned she had a significantly increased risk of developing cancer after her sister, Jeanne, died of the same disease in 2020.
Evert, 68, was given the all-clear in January and was told there was a 90 per cent chance the cancer would not return, but that has not proved to be the case.
In a statement released through ESPN, for whom she works as a pundit, Evert said: “Since I was first diagnosed with cancer two years ago, I’ve been very open about my experience.
“I wanted to give all of you an update. My cancer is back. While this is a diagnosis I never wanted to hear, I once again feel fortunate that it was caught early.
“Based on a PET CT scan, I underwent another robotic surgery this past week. Doctors found cancer cells in the same pelvic region. All cells were removed, and I have begun another round of chemotherapy.”
Evert will not be working at the Australian Open while she undergoes treatment but said she would be “ready for the rest of the grand slam season”.
“I encourage everyone to know your family history and advocate for yourself,” she added. “Early detection saves lives. Be thankful for your health this holiday season.”
Nick Kyrgios withdraws from the Australian Open
Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open for the second year in a row.
The 28-year-old has played only one match in 2023, on grass in Stuttgart in June, and his withdrawal appeared inevitable when his name was absent from the entry list for next month’s tournament.
“This is a very disappointing time for me but I won’t be able to compete at the 2024 Australian Open,” Kyrgios said on social media.
“Obviously, heartbreaking. I’ve had so many amazing memories there and I just want to really get back to playing at the top of my game and doing it right, and I need a little more time.”
Kyrgios pulled out on the eve of his first-round match at Melbourne Park in January and revealed he needed knee surgery.
At the time he was optimistic the lay-off would not be too long but it was June when he finally returned, and that proved a false dawn.
Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2022, then withdrew just before the Championships, this time citing a wrist injury, and he has not been seen on a match court since.
Kyrgios, who is currently unranked because of the length of his absence, announced he will be in Melbourne to do media work.
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