Gripping rally sends Vekic soaring into Wimbledon quarterfinals

Donna Vekic won a stirring rally on Day 7 at Wimbledon, collecting Point of the Day honors and propelling herself into the quarterfinals of the grass-court Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

“To win and make quarters at Wimbledon, I feel like I’m living my dream,” Vekic said afterwards. “So I’m just really happy.”

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During the intense final set of her 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Paula Badosa in Sunday’s Round of 16, 28-year-old Croatian Vekic came out on top in a 27-shot tussle, ending the point with a superb crosscourt forehand:

The point came just before the third of three rain delays that interrupted the encounter on No.2 Court. Vekic and former World No.2 Badosa both proved their mettle by shaking off the delays and playing some of the best power tennis of the fortnight, particularly in the decider.

It was Vekic who ended up the victor on Sunday, moving into her third Grand Slam quarterfinal, and first off of hardcourt. Vekic’s previous Grand Slam quarterfinals were at the 2019 US Open and 2023 Australian Open.

“It’s been a long day,” Vekic said. “Been here since 8 a.m. It’s now 8 p.m. Tough match, really tough match. One of the toughest, for sure, in my career, just because it’s fourth round of Wimbledon, a lot of rain delays. Yeah, the tension was there.”

A former Top 20 player currently just outside the seedings at World No.37, Vekic has proven her bona fides on grass throughout her career. She won the 2017 Nottingham title on the surface and reached four other grass-court finals, including just last week in Bad Homburg.

Now, the Croatian No.1 has a shot at her first career Grand Slam semifinal and beyond. Vekic will face breakthrough qualifier Lulu Sun in the elite eight on Tuesday, after Sun took down British hope Emma Raducanu.

“She’s had an amazing run from qualies,” Vekic said, looking ahead to Sun. “Obviously she’s playing great tennis. … No one makes the quarterfinals of Wimbledon by accident.”

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