LONDON :Seasoned German Laura Siegemund, the oldest woman left in the Wimbledon singles draw, ended the remarkable run of Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra with a 6-3 6-2 victory to storm into the quarter-finals on a rain-hit Sunday.
Siegemund’s reward for her own heroics at the grasscourt Grand Slam was a clash with top seed Aryna Sabalenka and the 37-year-old said she was heading into that match with a risk-free approach in the hope of reaching her first major semi-final.
“I haven’t thought much about it yet. She’s one of the greatest players that we have and one of the most aggressive also,” Siegemund told reporters.
“The only good thing about that match is that I have absolutely nothing to lose. But it’s definitely one of the toughest opponents I think to have on grass.”
Siegemund played warm-up events in Nottingham and Bad Homburg in a shift from her usual routine of keeping her grass season short after the long clay swing and she said she was reaping the rewards at Wimbledon.
“I always felt on grass that by the time I start to feel the game and I start to play better, it’s already over. That was how it pretty much went every year,” she said.
“I did feel that I have good stuff for grass. I like to come to the net. I love the slice but I felt I never have enough time to kind of get confidence from my grass game, and maybe the precision here and there and when to do what.
“This time that I had already a few matches in Nottingham, and I felt that I had more matches, and I had more opportunity to get this confidence, and it’s showing.”
Her Court Two clash with Sierra had barely begun when showers stopped play and both players swapped early breaks having returned after a delay of a little more than an hour before Siegemund took control by moving through the gears.
She edged in front when Sierra produced a double fault and then unleashed a couple of huge serves to hold for a 5-3 lead in the next game, before wrapping up the set with another break in the ninth game.
Sierra, bidding to become the first lucky loser to make the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, found herself in big trouble at 0-3 down in the second set following another rain delay and she buried her face in her towel during a break.
Siegemund was in no mood to show mercy to the world number 101, however, as she pushed on and closed out the victory on her third match point.
“If you would have told me I would play the quarter-finals here, I would have never believed it. That’s clear,” she said.
“On the other hand, it’s very simple math in tennis. It’s like you have an opponent. Either you find good solutions and you execute well, you go forward or you don’t, and you don’t go forward.
“I have this game and this boldness … to take out big names. I’ve always had that, because in a positive, respectful way I don’t care.
“I’m just focusing on me and on my job.”
