Experienced Croatian Donna Vekic ended Lula Sun’s extraordinary Wimbledon journey on a damp Tuesday, battling past New Zealand’s 123rd-ranked qualifier 5-7 6-4 6-1 to reach her maiden grand slam singles semi-final on her 43rd main draw appearance.
Victory also meant Vekic became only the second woman from her country to reach the All England Club semi-finals, matching the feat of Mirjana Lucic in 1999. But it was not entirely smooth sailing for the unseeded 28-year-old.
“It was a really tough match. She played unbelievable. She pushed me to my limits,” said Vekic, who will meet seventh seed Jasmine Paolini or 19th seed Emma Navarro for a place in the title clash on Saturday.
“I felt like I was dying out there the first two sets. My chance came in the end.”
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Vekic, who previously said she nearly quit the sport after issues with form and fitness after knee surgery in 2021, broke into tears on court as she acknowledged her team's efforts.
“I have a full box of people and without them I would not be here,” she said.
Sun saved three breakpoints under the Court One roof and broke for a crucial 6-5 advantage before digging herself out of a hole again to seize the opening set on serve with the most delicate of drop shots.
The left-hander surrendered her serve in the eighth game of the second set before Vekic made a flurry of double faults while serving for the set, only to regain composure and draw level in the match with another break.
She produced a deft drop shot of her own on set point as Sun appeared a shadow of her former self as the match wore on.
The clash turned on its head when world number 37 Vekic broke in the third set after a double fault from Sun’s racket, and the former Australian Open and US Open quarter-finalist quickly pulled away for a 5-0 lead.
She duly settled the contest on serve to dash Sun’s hopes of becoming the first woman qualifier to make the Wimbledon semi-finals since American Alexandra Stevenson 25 years ago.
The battling victory was the perfect reward for Vekic's persistence at the grandest stage.
Only Barbora Strycova (53), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (52), Elena Likhovtseva (46) and Roberta Vinci (44) have needed more Grand Slam appearances to make a maiden semi-final since the sport turned professional in 1968.
Meanwhile in the other semi-final, Jasmine Paolini kept the Italian flag flying at Wimbledon by thrashing Emma Navarro to reach the semi-finals.
Centre Court was still reeling from the defeat suffered by Italy’s poster boy and world number one Jannik Sinner, at the hands of Daniil Medvedev, when Paolini entered the fray.
The 28-year-old seventh seed duly dispatched American Navarro 6-2 6-1 to become the first Italian woman to make the last four in SW19.
Before this year Paolini had never won a match on grass, or gone beyond the second round of a major tournament.
But she was a surprise runner-up at the French Open last month and has proved that run was no flash in the pan by standing on the brink of a second final in a matter of weeks.
Navarro has also been flying this fortnight having already accounted for Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, and had beaten Paolini in their previous three meetings.
The New Yorker drew first blood, the breaking serve to lead 2-1 in the opening set. But Paolini, visibly irritated at herself, hit straight back to embark on a run of six games in a row, wrapping up the opening set and holding at the start of the second.
Navarro stopped the bleeding in the next and then began unleashing her fearsome forehand to bring up a break point.
It was an encouraging game from Navarro, but Paolini wriggled out of it and from that point onwards the 19th seed did not get another sniff.
