Aryna Sabalenka headed to the bar as Naomi Osaka marched into a first Wimbledon quarter-final.
In the biggest match of the women’s tournament so far, Osaka produced a brilliant display in a 6-2 7-6 (2) victory to send the world number one tumbling out of a major tournament before the quarter-finals for the first time since the French Open in 2022.
It was a record-breaking day of the wrong kind for Sabalenka, who also saw her winning streak of 21 consecutive grand slam tie-breaks ended, while she suffered a straight-sets defeat at a major for the first time in nearly six years.
“Obviously I’m not happy with the way I played but she overpowered me,” said the top seed. “I felt like it was an incredible level from her. I tried my best.”
Sabalenka will remain on top of the rankings after the tournament but it has been an unsettling period for the 28-year-old, who fell apart against Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals in Paris and has now seen another opportunity to win a first Wimbledon title slip through her fingers.
“Right now I’m world number one,” she said. “Level-wise, today I wasn’t world number one. Yesterday, I was world number one.
“I don’t even want to think about ranking at this point. I just want to go, get completely drunk, forget about tennis, and try to get in better shape.
“I f***ed it up this year. Next year I’ll try to do better.”
While this was clearly not Sabalenka at her best, it was a stunning performance from Osaka, who had never previously been beyond the third round at Wimbledon but has found her feet on grass in hugely impressive fashion.
The 28-year-old beamed after clinching one of her best wins since the last of her four grand slam titles in 2021, and she said: “I think it was a really fun match, I’m really grateful.
“For me, this court is so special, this is the first match I’ve won on this court. It means a lot. My mum’s over there and I feel like her cooking is powering me.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun on the court. Going into the match I’d lost to her three times in a row so that really sucked.”
Osaka said ahead of the contest that she finds Centre Court the scariest of all the grand slam main stages but it did not appear that way at any point.
She kept the same look she had modelled for her third-round match, walking out in a floor-length robe with draped sleeves and earning a warm reception.
Neither had lost a set here going into the match but Osaka, who had lost all three of their previous matches this year, had certainly been the more impressive and a backhand winner drilled down the line gave her the opening break in the third game.
While Osaka looked calm and composed, the tension was oozing out of Sabalenka, who let out a huge yell after netting a forehand to open the fifth game.
Sabalenka could only stare in open-mouthed disbelief when an Osaka forehand to clinch a 5-1 lead was shown to have landed on the line, and she hurriedly left the court for a bathroom break at the end of the set.
Sabalenka fought doggedly to stay on level terms at the start of the second set, fighting back from 0-30 in the third game and saving two break points at 2-2, but Osaka was serene.
Her serve, in particular, was a fearsome weapon that Sabalenka could not get anywhere near, and Osaka dominated the tie-break, with the top seed earning boos from the crowd for whacking a ball on to the roof in annoyance after netting a final backhand.
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