Wimbledon 2023 ladies' semi-final recap: Czech Marketa Vondrousova reaches the final with win over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina

The Czech World No.42 Marketa Vondrousova, who has previously reached the showpiece match at the French Open and the Olympic Games, adds Wimbledon to her list of finals as she edges out a hold to 30 to end new-mum Svitolina’s fairytale run.

The Czech was the better player for long periods but had to overcome nerves as she neared the finish line before finally seeing it out in one hour and 14 minutes.

After all of that hard work, it quickly unravels for Elina.

A double fault is the catalyst for a shocker of a service game and she quickly loses three points in a row, compounding her misery with a scorching crosscourt forehand that lands wide.

Vondrousova will now serve for the match.

The Centre Court crowd look to get right behind Elina when Vondrousova blocks a volley just wide to cough up another break point.

The Czech responds with a superb drop shot to just about make deuce but she’s clearly edgy being so close to the finish line as another double fault keeps Elina in the game.

A rare failure on a drop shot gives Svitolina another chance and this time she makes it count as Marketa misses the island with a loose forehand.

It could and perhaps should have been 5-0 with Marketa on the brink of the final. Instead, Elina has re-energised the crowd as the Czech World No.42’s nerves begin to show.

Svitolina takes full advantage and motors through a love hold to suggest she believes a comeback could be on…

Vondrousova has a real wobble from 40-0 up and then double faults to give Elina a glimmer of hope at deuce.

Marketa continues to toil trying to close out the game, throwing in another double fault and eventually the Ukrainian begins to unleash some big groundstrokes.

A corking forehand earns her a second break point of the game and she earns a slither of a lifeline when Vondrousova lashes a crosscourt backhand an inch wide.

This semi-final is rapidly running away from Elina now.

The Ukrainian looks set to stop the rot at 40-15 up but Marketa just won’t let her off the hook.

It’s a real scrap from deuce with a series of unforced errors gifting the Czech break points. She wastes three of them but comes up trumps on the fourth as Elina drags another backhand into the net.

Svitolina has quite literally been hit for six here as Marketa continues her hot streak with a rampant love hold to consolidate in style.

Marketa screams in delight when Elina pushes a backhand under pressure long to allow the Czech to make it five games on the spin with the first break of Set 2.

The World No.42 had seen Svitolina quash a first break point with a wonderful, angled volley but the Ukrainian was helpless as Vondrousova clocked up a second with a wonderful stretch to pull off a forehand pass to set up the steal.

Vondrousova maintains her momentum by rushing through the opening game of Set to 15 to make it four games in a row.

Svitolina needs to find her feet again here, and fast!

The vast majority of the Centre Court crowd would have been arriving here today anticipating a Svitolina victory.

Well, it’s not going to that script.

Vondrousova has been excellent so far with the Ukrainian looking a bit too edgy at times.

The Czech rallies from 40-15 down when Elina arrows a backhand just long and then earns set point with a crisp forehand after Svitolina had made a hash of dealing with a defensive lob.

The Ukrainian then compounded her patchy game by firing a forehand wide to cough up the opening set in 29 minutes.

There’s no mistake this time around. Vondrousova finds some extra zip on her serve with the new balls and consolidates with a dominant clean hold.

It’s that backhand doing damage again.

Vondrousova lures a forehand long from Elina with a deep, probing crosscourt strike after the Ukrainian had coughed up triple break point.

Marketa slipped on the first but secured the game on the second after Svitolina had left herself with too much to do with a trio of unforced errors.

The drop shot is beginning to pay real dividends for Marketa, but it doesn’t cover up the errors in the rest of her game.

She uses it to good effect to hit back from 0-30 and then saves break point with a delicious, side spinning one from deep. However, a tight backhand into the net is followed by an overcooked forehand and Svitolina doesn’t have to do much to snare the break back.

It’s the 2019 French Open finalist who makes the first big move of this last-four clash.

Marketa finds great depth on her return game and the crosscourt backhand again breaches her opponent’s defences to notch up triple break point.

Svitolina steps in with a big forehand to try and begin a recovery but Vondrousova stretches to her left to gun a brilliant forehand pass up the line to break to love.

Marketa shrugs off a drop shot fail at 30-0 and mops up some cheap points via smart serving to level matters early on in this semi-final.

Elina drags Marketa across her baseline and then drills a deep backhand to the open space in the Czech’s left wing and the World No.42 can’t keep the rally going. It secures another routine hold to 15 with both players fairly untroubled on serve so far.

Svitolina threatens a revival with a crisp forehand up the line but then lobs a reaction volley an inch long following a drop-shot/pick-up exchange.

Vondrousova then finds some excellent depth on a succession of crosscourt backhands to lure a forced forehand error into the net to get on the board.