Wimbledon 2025, Day 10 Highlights: Świątek Soars; Bencic Breaks Through; Djokovic, Sinner Stay Steady

From Iga’s calm dominance to Belinda’s comeback arc, the second slate of quarter-finals brought clarity, closure and compelling tennis to Centre Court. <strong><em>Harsh Pareek</em></strong> reports.

Iga Swiatek seals her spot in the Wimbledon semi finals.

Writer-editor Harsh Pareek brings you all the courtside drama, flair and finesse from Wimbledon 2025, in #ServeAndVolley.

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AS WE HURTLE TOWARDS THE SEMIS the second set of the quarter-finals showcased some enticing draws, potential for interesting battles, and perhaps a chance for some new faces to make it to the final rounds.

It would be a day of tough fights and drawn-out sets. But not so much for Iga Świątek, who started the day's proceedings.

The eighth-seeded Pole took on the 19th seed Russian, Liudmila Samsonova, on Court 1. Świątek, with her newfound love for the grass court, has increasingly looked like the player to beat at this year's tournament. In her first grand slam quarter-final, Samsonova — who prefers not to know who she'll be facing until the night before the match — would have to pull something special to get past the five-time Grand Slam champion.

But before Samsonova could find her footing, she was already in a free fall as Świątek took the first set 6-2 rather effortlessly. From 2-2, going on to win seven games in a row. At 4-2 in the second set, just as the match seemed concluded, the Russian showed signs of life, fighting back, drawing level at 4-4, then 5-5. But it was too late, and too little to trouble Świątek, who maintained her intensity and relentless power from the baseline, closing the contest at 6-2, 7-5.

It was a great victory for the former world number one, on what has traditionally been her weakest surface. "Honestly, it feels great. I have goosebumps after this win," she said in the post-match interview. "I really enjoy playing (on grass) this year, and hopefully it is going to last as long as possible. I worked really hard to progress here on this surface."

Next up, it was the seventh-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva against the only unseeded singles player on the day, the Swiss Belinda Bencic.

Andreeva, at 18 the youngest player to reach a Wimbledon quarter-final since 2007, was also the favourite here after blazing through the tournament, without dropping a single set. Former Olympic champion Bencic, though, was determined not to follow the script. In the closest contest of the day, there was little to separate the pair, as they took the first set to the tie-break, with Bencic coming out on top 7-6(3) against an at times more aggressive Andreeva.

With neither taking their foot off the gas nor outright dominating each other, the second went the same way. 6-6, tie-break, Bencic taking the spoils 7-6(2). And there was much to celebrate for the Swiss. Not only will this be her first Wimbledon semi-final, she also became the first Swiss woman to make it to the last four since Martina Hingis in 1998.

Bencic has had an incredible run following her return from a maternity leave after giving birth last April. Having fallen in ranks close to 500, she is now back in the top 20. "It's not only me, I wouldn't be able to do it without my amazing family and team. We worked so hard on the comeback," she said after the match. "We are enjoying life on tour with Bella [her daughter], travelling. It’s been beautiful to create these memories together. And to play great is a bonus. I'm generally just really happy to be able to play again because my body allows it." She will now face Świątek in the semis.

It was then time for the men to take to the court. First up, it was the number one seed Jannik Sinner against the 10th-seeded American, Ben Shelton.

Following dramatic scenes at the Centre Court during his previous match which saw Grigor Dimitrov retire after an injury, Sinner came into this one with concerns about his own injured elbow, donning bandages and a long white sleeve to support the same. A Nadal-esque Shelton, on the other hand, had used his power to dominate so far, and hoped to rely on his whipping speed to deliver the goods once again. As much of style and power, it was also to be a contest of temperaments, a red-hot Shelton versus the ice-cool Sinner.

Any concerns on account of his elbow though were quickly put to rest by the Italian, who delivered as clinical a performance you're likely to see. It was almost like watching a surgeon at work — sharp, precise, and not an ounce of energy wasted where not required.

Although it came to tie-break in the first round, and was a match of fine margins in the second and third, with his depth and consistency, the Italian never looked concerned or in any danger of losing the plot. There was a moment where Sinner clutched his elbow after a return shot, but was back to his effortless best in no time, neutralising Shelton's aggression with his natural game, and winning 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4.

The American has now lost his last 15 sets against Sinner, and not beaten him since they first met at the 2023 Shanghai Masters. The Italian on the other hand has now won 20 successive Tour-level matches against American players. "I'm very, very happy about today's performance," said Sinner, in his post match interview, and adding about his injury scare, “When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it. It has improved a lot from yesterday to today.”

Back on Centre Court, and it was time for the final quarter-final match of the day, sixth-seeded Novak Djokovic against another Italian, the 22nd-seeded and former Roma youth soccer player, Flavio Cobolli.

The Serbian, chasing his 25th Grand Slam and sailing smoothly in the tournament so far, was the favourite versus the young Italian who was playing his first Grand Slam quarter-final after an inspired run, and Cobolli was determined to put up a fight.

Giving the seven-time Wimbledon champion an early scare, the 23-year-old — rocking an orange-framed racket — took the first set to a tie-break and managed to come out on top. Djokovic wasted no time to reply, and took the next 6-2 in vintage style. Things seemed to be slipping away from Cobolli, but he refused to get steamrolled and put up an incredible fight in the third, with the crowd increasingly behind him. While his approach was more simple and blunt at times, it worked for a while. But similar to a few of his previous matches, Djokovic once again shut the door just in time, taking the set 7-5.

Cobolli fought on, but the former world number one wasn't going anywhere. With the finishing line in sight, Djokovic slipped and fell to the ground, clearly in pain. There was a moment of concern across the Centre Court, but he dusted himself off and closed the match in minutes with a final score of 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, going past Roger Federer's semi-finals record at the All England Club with his 14th.

"Wimbledon was, is, and always will be the most special tournament that we have in our sport, at least in my opinion and I think in many players' opinion. It means the world to me that I'm still able at 38 to play in the final stages of Wimbledon," he said after the match, while also congratulating Cobolli. "I'm going to have Sinner next so I look forward to that. It's going to be a great match." And so the hunt continues.

Matches to watch today:

Aryna Sabalenka vs Amanda Anisimova (SF)

Belinda Bencic vs Iga Świątek (SF)

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