HSBC Championships 2026: Iva Jovic upsets Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova to reach semi-finals

Meanwhile, lucky loser Donna Vekic also sealed her place in the final four after knocking out former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova in three sets.

Jovic broke the Wimbledon finalist and world No.5 three times in the final set to come through 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes.

It’s a second top-10 win for the American teenager, who also defeated Jasmine Paolini at the Australian Open earlier this year.

“It means a lot to me,” she said after the match. “I love this tournament and every match here is a privilege so to be able to play another one tomorrow is amazing.”

Both players tussled for momentum throughout the opening two sets, and Jovic had to find her rhythm again after losing the second set.

The young American dealt big damage off the forehand wing in the final set, winning three of Anisimova’s service games to secure a place in the semi-finals.

“We’ve never played each other before but practiced a couple of times,” she added. “She’s one of those players who can take the racket out of your hand so if you let her get some momentum she can keep rolling and hit a lot of winners. I just tried to reset as best I could and get ready for the third set.

“I just try to fight for every point. We train a lot and these are the matches you want to fight hard for and give yourself the best chance.”

Jovic is quickly emerging as a serious force on the grass. A former junior Wimbledon singles semi-finalist and doubles champion, Jovic won her first grass court title last year at the Lexus Ilkley Open.

Since then, she’s gone from strength-to-strength and has already defeated Antonia Ruzic and last week’s Birmingham champion Alexandra Eala this tournament.

In the semi-finals she will play either Emma Raducanu or Kamilla Rakhimova.

Vekic shows grass court quality

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Vekic demonstrated her grass court quality at Queen’s – beating former Eastbourne and Nottingham champion Pliskova 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Vekic finished her second round match against Marie Bouzkova earlier in the day before heading out onto Court 1 for her clash with Pliskova.

The world No.76 got the crucial break in the second game of the third set and only lost two points on her first serve the rest of the way.

It’s her second WTA 500 semi-final of the season after making the last four in Linz back in April.

Vekic has history of her own on grass, having won the Nottingham title back in 2017. Her next opponent will be the winner of the match between Katie Boulter and Elena Rybakina.