"It's incredible. I'm so happy to be in the semi-finals after a very difficult match," commented Rybakina, who will face Romania's Simona Halep (18th) on Thursday for a place in the final, 2019 winner and easy winner of the American Amanda Anisimova (25th).
Born in Moscow, 23-year-old Rybakina is the first representative of Kazakhstan, men and women alike, to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.
She had already reached the quarters at Roland-Garros in 2021, but she had never passed the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
"I started a little slow, I didn't serve very well at first. Maybe I was a little nervous," Rybakina said.
"She played really well, especially in defence, but I did everything to concentrate well on my serves (her strong point, editor's note) trying to find a passage and I found it".
Indeed, Tomljanovic picked his opponent cold by scoring the break before the Kazakh fully entered the match, to lead 2-1.
She then maintained her advantage until the end by showing herself to be extremely solid on her face-off.
But from the start of the second set, Rybakina and his serve wreaked havoc (4 aces, 88% of points won after the first serve and 11 winning points).
The Kazakh thus equalized at one set everywhere.
On her way, Rybakina quickly pulled away 5-1 in the deciding set and was no longer threatened.
© 2022 AFP