Wimbledon: Donna Vekic roars back to end Lulu Sun's fairytale run and reach semi-finals at All England Club

Qualifier Lulu Sun saw her fairytale run at Wimbledon come to an end in the quarter-finals as Donna Vekic claimed a come-from-behind victory in three sets on Court 1. While it was another stunning win for Vekic, who has overcome the odds herself, the fans at the All England Club paid particular tribute to Sun as she departed the tournament after surprising everyone.

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Donna Vekic recovered from a set down to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon with a fine victory over qualifier Lulu Sun, whose incredible run came to an end.

Vekic was playing in her third Grand Slam quarter-final, and she took the opportunity to reach the last four at the All England Club with a 5-7 6-4 6-1 victory in two hours and eight minutes on Court 1.

The world No. 37 had to find her very best tennis to overcome the intrepid Sun, who had delighted the fans at SW19 with a dazzling display in the opening set.

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Eventually, though, Vekic found a way through her defences and edged a very tight second set before pulling away in the third in decisive fashion. The 28-year-old is the last unseeded player left in the women's draw.

It was almost another incredible step for Sun, with the New Zealander attempting to become only the second qualifier to reach the ladies' singles semi-finals at the grass-court Grand Slam.

The 123rd-ranked Sun, who overcame Britain's Emma Raducanu in the fourth round, was given a huge ovation as she left the court after an improbable run to the last eight.

Mirjana Lucic back in 1999 was the last Croat to reach the last four of the women's singles at Wimbledon with Vekic having now emulated that feat.

"Those couple of years [2021 and 2022] were very tough," Vekic said. "I didn't think I was ever going to come back to the level that I even had last year.

"So this now, reaching my best result ever at a Slam, I'm really proud of myself, of the work that I've done, of the work that my team has done.

"Before the match, I was relaxed. The only moment where I was a bit more stressed out during the match was when I saw how well [Sun was] playing. It's not that I didn't expect her to play well. I knew she was going to come out swinging.

"I could not find the depth in my shots. I wasn't executing my shots as well as I wanted to. That's why I was, I don't know, a little bit more stressed and tense. But at the end, I managed to find my game."

Vekic will next take on seventh seed and French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the semi-finals after she overcame Emma Navarro, the 19th seed from the USA.

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