Norrie, Jabeur, Maria reach Wimbledon first semifinals

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — In all four singles quarterfinals on a sunny day, the player who dropped the first set ended up victorious. Cameron Norrie edged David Goffin of Belgium 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5; No. 3 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia beat Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; Tatjana Maria defeated Jule Niemeier 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in an all-German matchup.

Norrie, Jabeur and Maria all earned the right to make their debuts in a Grand Slam semifinal.

“Can't enjoy it too much now,” said Norrie, 26, who was born in South Africa to British parents, grew up in New Zealand and played college tennis at Texas Christian University. “Just get ready for Novak in a couple days.”

The 103rd-ranked Maria is, at 34, the oldest first-time women's semifinalist at a major and only the sixth woman at least that old to get this far at Wimbledon in the professional era, which began in 1968. The others? Quite a list: Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

“I always believed that I have something inside,” said Maria, who only once before reached as far as the third round. “That I can do this.”

Norrie will take on Novak Djokovic, who made his own comeback on Tuesday, storming back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia, managed his seventh career comeback in a match in which he trailed by two sets — he last did it in the 2021 French Open final against Stefanos Tsitsipas — and improved to 37-10 in five-setters. That includes a 10-1 mark in matches that go the distance at Wimbledon, including nine straight victories; the lone loss came in 2006.

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