Elena Rybakina claims that her confidence will soar as she pursues a repeat as the lone remaining former Wimbledon singles champion in the women’s bracket.
In the 2022 final, the Kazakh defeated Ons Jabeur to win her first Grand Slam championship and the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Being the highest-ranked player left in this year’s field, the fourth seed is considered the clear favorite to win the coveted trophy again.
Play in the quarterfinal between Rybakina and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine begins on Center Court on Wednesday at 13:30 BST.
Novak Djokovic will then play Alex de Minaur at Centre Court two days after claiming the crowd of being disrespectful to him after his victory against Holger Rune in the fourth round.
On Court One, at 13:00 BST, former French Open champions Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic square off, followed by Italian Lorenzo Musetti facing 13th seed Taylor Fritz.
“There are still many excellent players” for Rybakina to overcome
Rybakina stated that her victory at Wimbledon two years prior will only be somewhat helpful this time around.
“I don’t really think about this when I go on the court,” she stated. “Of course it gives more confidence, but no matter what there are still a lot of good players.”
Regarding her status as a clear favorite, Rybakina remarked: “It feels good if people believe so, but the final is still a long way off. In front of me are numerous matches. I really want to succeed and want to win.”
The 25-year-old, who defeated 21st seed Svitolina in straight sets at the French Open last month, will draw confidence from her most recent matchup.
After an emotional victory against Wang Xinyu of China in the fourth round, Svitolina is back and looking to make it to the SW19 semi-finals for the second year in a row.
After finding out in the morning that Russian strikes had killed dozens of people and severely damaged a children’s hospital in her home Ukraine, she described the match as “one of the most difficult matches in my life”.
In response to the question of whether she would shake hands with Rybakina, a Russian-born woman who switched allegiance in 2018 after receiving more financial backing from Kazakhstan, Svitolina stated: “She changed her nationality, so it means she doesn’t want to represent her original country, so it works.”
As Alex de Minaur, an Australian who is ranked ninth and in his first Wimbledon quarterfinal, faces Djokovic, he will be attempting to secure a record-tying seventh Wimbledon championship.
On Monday, Djokovic said that certain members of the Centre Court audience were using a Holger Rune chant as “an excuse to boo” him. American tennis star John McEnroe supported Djokovic, estimating that the Serb has experienced disrespect at least 100 times in his career.
Fritz will apply his knowledge of Djokovic and Nadal’s losses
The 13th seed Ostapenko, who hasn’t lost a set in this year’s competition and is looking to make her first Wimbledon semifinal since 2018, will have a formidable challenge on Court One.
Although Ostapenko has defeated Krejcikova five times in their seven prior meetings, Krejcikova is a formidable opponent for her.
When American Fritz takes against Musetti, who is making his maiden appearance in the final eight of a major, he will be looking to build on his prior Grand Slam quarterfinal experience.
Fritz has lost to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2022 and has failed to make it past the quarterfinals of a Slam in three attempts, twice against Djokovic.
“This will be my first quarter-final where I’m the more experienced person in Slam quarter-finals, having played Novak twice and Rafa once,” Fritz stated.
“Hopefully that will help me a little bit.”
