In 2016, Elina Svitolina stunned Serena Williams en route to the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics. In 2021, she’s gone at least one step further at the Tokyo Games by eliminating Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-4, to secure the first women’s singles semifinal spot.
Fresh off her victory over Naomi Osaka, unseeded Marketa Vondrousova set a semifinal showdown with Svitolina. The lefty led Paula Badosa, 6-3, when the Spaniard decided she could no longer continue in the heat.
Belinda Bencic has taken out the pair of players who squared off in this year’s French Open final to reach the medal round. A day after ousting Barbora Krejcikova, the Swiss held off Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.
The final women’s singles semifinal slot went to Elena Rybakina. The 15th-seeded Kazakh eased past No. 7 seed Garbine Muguruza, 7-5, 6-1, powering 17 forehand winners past the Spaniard to confirm a clash with Bencic.
New Zealand’s Michael Venus and Marcus Daniell clinched their quarterfinal over No. 3 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, 6-3, 3-6 [10-7], to ensure they’ll play for a medal in the men’s doubles event.
Winners of eight titles this season already, Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic are closing in on achieving their top priority. The No. 1-seeded Croatians ended the run of home favorites Ben McLachlan and Kei Nishikori, 6-3, 6-3.
Elena Vesnina is two wins away from defending her Olympic title in women’s doubles. Having partnered Ekaterina Makarova five years ago, Vesnina is back in the semifinals, this time with Veronika Kudermetova following a 6-2, 6-1 win over Liudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok.
Top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova rallied past Ashleigh Barty and Storm Sanders, 3-6, 6-4 [10-7], in the quarterfinals. Kudermetova and Vesnina await the Czech duo.