
Aryna Sabalenka was dragged into a bygone era on Tuesday and tormented for almost three hours on Wimbledon’s Centre Court before finally imposing her 21st-century power game to beat mesmeric Laura Siegemund for a place in the semi-finals.
The Belarusian needed all her powers of ball bludgeoning and belief to emerge from a befuddling battle, somehow the victor, 4-6 6-2 6-4.
For much of the spell-binding contest it looked as