Aryna Sabalenka narrowly avoids Wimbledon upset after umpire warning on Centre Court

Aryna Sabalenka overcameher own frustration and opponent Laura Siegemund to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Theworld No.1 is the overwhelming favourite to win the tournament, yet was pushed very hard by Siegemund on Centre Court.

Sabalenka came through 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 54 minutes, narrowly avoiding becoming the biggest scalp of the world No.104's career. Having sailed through her first four matches without dropping a single set, Sabalenka was stunned as Siegemund - a 37-year-old doubles specialist who had never made it past the second round at Wimbledon before this year - broke twice early on and claimed the opening set.

The Belarusian was a picture of frustration, frequently standing aghast after making unforced errors, while also taking out her annoyance on the ball boys at one point for not providing her with balls quickly enough on serve.

Siegemund's game was not a good match for Sabalenka, who is at her best when slugging it out from the baseline. The German's canny use of slice and drop-shots clearly got under the No.1 seed's skin, forcing her to play away from her strengths.

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Her best run at a Grand Slam previously came in 2020, when she reached the quarter-finals at Rolland Garros, but she was not over-awed by the occasion or her opponent. Cleverly taking pace off her second serve to interrupt Sabalenka's timing on the return, she unearthed a method that was delivering results.

But Sabalenka hasn't become world No.1 and become the dominant player on the WTA Tour for no reason. Through gritted teeth, and with her frustration still written all over her face, Sabalenka channelled it to take the second set.

"I thought she really used her composure in the second set to regroup," noted two-time Grand Slam champion Tracey Austin on the BBC. "We've seen her just yell and scream at her team sometimes but she did well to figure it out against Siegemund."

After Siegemund took a time out, the drama continued in the third set, with the German receiving a warning from the chair umpire for slow serving. Sabalenka then provoked shock from the crowd by hitting the net with her racket in frustration.

They continually traded breaks of serve in the final set before Sabalenka's strength and mental grit shone through in a tense finale.

Having reached the last four in 2021 and 2023, the 27-year-old will play in the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the third time, where she will face Amanda Anisimova or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.