July 09, (THEWILL) – Croatian tennis player, Donna Vekic, has reached her first Grand Slam semi-final, at Wimbledon 2024. The 28-year-old defeated New Zealand qualifier, Lula Sun, on Court One, winning 5-7 6-4 6-1.
The victory marks a significant milestone for Vekic, who becomes only the second Croatian woman to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. She follows in the footsteps of Mirjana Lucic, who achieved the feat in 1999. Vekic’s path to success has not been easy, having nearly quit the sport after knee surgery in 2021.
The match was a test of endurance for both players. Sun, ranked 123rd in the world, pushed Vekic to her limits in the first two sets. However, Vekic’s experience shone through in the final set, where she quickly pulled away to a 5-0 lead before closing out the match.
Vekic’s next challenge will be against either seventh seed Jasmine Paolini or 19th seed Emma Navarro in the semi-finals. The winner of that match will advance to Saturday’s final, with a chance to claim the Wimbledon trophy.
This achievement is particularly sweet for Vekic, who needed 43 main draw appearances to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final. Only four other players in the Open Era have required more attempts to reach this stage of a major tournament.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
