Ons Jabeur will meet the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in Saturday’s women’s final at Wimbledon.
Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, earned a shot at redemption by upsetting world number two Aryna Sabalenka after Vondrousova crushed the dreams of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the first semi-final.
Elsewhere at the All England Club, Britain’s Neal Skupski secured a place in the final of the men’s doubles.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day 11 of the Championships unfolded.
Ons-toppable?
Ons Jabeur was devastated after losing to Elina Rybakina in the 2022 final but believes she is a different player 12 months on.
The sixth seed defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 to the delight of the Centre Court crowd – and likely to the relief of the All England Club and Buckingham Palace.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka, banned from last year’s tournament due to the war in Ukraine, was a point from going a set and 5-3 up.
But Jabeur’s rousing comeback spared Wimbledon chiefs the uncomfortable prospect of the Princess of Wales handing a trophy to, and shaking hands with, a player from Russia’s allied nation Belarus in the women’s final.
Instead of a politically-charged clash, the gutsy Tunisian will bid to make it second time lucky, with underdog Vondrousova standing in her way.
Tweet of the daySvitolina unable to mount mother of all comebacks
Elina Svitolina’s inspiring run ended as Czech world number 42 Vondrousova reached her maiden Wimbledon final.
Svitolina’s efforts amid war in her homeland of Ukraine and only nine months after giving birth to daughter Skai have been one of the stories of the tournament.
But she was quickly on the backfoot in her quest to reach a first major final and was unable to battle back against 24-year-old Vondrousova, who broke three times in the opening set en route to a 6-3 6-3 success.
Far more at home on clay than grass, Vondrousova is enjoying her first significant grand slam run since she made the final at the French Open in 2019 as a teenager before losing to Ashleigh Barty.
She had beaten Svitolina comfortably in their last meeting in the semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and it was the same story on Thursday.
Flying the British flag
Neal Skupski is one win away from a Wimbledon hat-trick after reaching the men’s doubles final with partner Wesley Koolhof.
The Liverpudlian won the mixed doubles in 2021 and 2022 and will have a shot at his first men’s title after a 7-5 6-4 win over Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden on Court One.
One break of serve in each set was enough for top seeds Skupski and Koolhof to get the job done as they booked a Centre Court spot on Saturday.
Shot of the dayQuote of the dayPicture of the dayStat of the day
Sinner guides Italy to back-to-back Davis Cup triumphs
Jannik Sinner capped his outstanding year by helping Italy retain the Davis Cup, beating Tallon Griekspoor to ensure Italy downed the Netherlands 2-0 in Sunday's final.
World number one Sinner overcame Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 after Matteo Berrettini had registered a 6-4 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the opener.
Sinner saved the only two break points of the first set as Griekspoor put up a fight, but the Italian put on a show in the tie-break to inch ahead.
Griekspoor hit back after giving up an early break in the second set, but Sinner immediately responded with two further breaks, with the Dutchman double-faulting for the first then wildly miscuing with a backhand for the second.
Sinner was untroubled from then on, sealing a triumphant end to a spectacular season.
The Italian has only dropped one set throughout that streak, finishing a year that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals with a 73-6 singles record.
Data Debrief: Sensational Sinner leads the way
This has been a truly remarkable year for Sinner, who has become the first man in the Open Era to win at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.
His victory ensured Italy became the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic triumphed in 2012 and 2013.
Italy also captured the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week, and they are just the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years, after the Czech Republic in 2012 and Russia in 2021.
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
Djokovic appoints Murray as coach for Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has announced his long-term former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open in 2025.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner, announced his retirement earlier this year and played his final match at the Paris Olympics in August.
He will join Djokovic's team in the off-season and coach him through the opening grand slam of the year, which begins on January 12.
This will be Murray's first coaching role since retiring following a 19-year career.
"We played each other since we were boys. 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits," Djokovic said in a video on social media.
"We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk-takers, history makers.
"I thought our story may be over - turns out it has one final chapter.
"It's time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome onboard coach, Andy Murray."
Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The Serb is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player. He has a good record in Australia though, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals.
Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open title in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, says he hopes they can achieve success together.
"I'm going to be joining Novak's team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said.
"I'm really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals."
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