Stevenson topples Raymond in all-American 1999 thriller

Welcome to Wimbledon Flashbacks, where wtatennis.com will take a look back at some of the most memorable narratives from The Championships over the past 20 years. After recapping Birmingham's best battles and excellent Eastbourne encounters, our retrospective heads to the lawns of SW19. Next up is a look back on Alexandra Stevenson's history-making Wimbledon debut that saw her go from qualifying all the way to the semifinals. 

For more classic moments, check out our other Wimbledon Flashbacks:
1999: Qualifier Dokic dispatches top seed Hingis in first-round stunner
2003: Navratilova shows her class at 46 to win title 20 alongside Paes
2017: Returning Rybarikova stuns Pliskova in 2017 Cinderella run
2019: From qualifying to Centre Court, Gauff's star rises at SW19
2005: Venus, Davenport contest classic clash in enthralling 2005 final

THE MOMENT: Two weeks after she graduated high school, 18-year-old Alexandra Stevenson entered the 1999 Wimbledon Championships as an amateur, but departed as a historic semifinalist. 

Arriving on British soil ranked outside of the Top 100 but ready to take on the tour, the American quickly showed glimpses of her grass-court talent.

Prior to Wimbledon, she qualified for and reached the quarterfinals in Birmingham, earning her first career Top 20 victory over No.3 seed Dominique Monami along the way. 

Moving into the Top 100 as a result of that result, Stevenson was the top seed in the Wimbledon qualifying tournament, where she did not drop a set in three matches to successfully earn a berth in the main draw. 

In her second Grand Slam main draw appearance, having lost in the opening round of the 1998 US Open as a wildcard, the Wimbledon rookie captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic as she strung together her victories, joining 16-year-old Jelena Dokic and 17-year-old Mirjana Lucic as sensations of the fortnight. 

Ultimately turning professional during the tournament, Stevenson's run was marked by her mettle.

She scored four three-set victories en route to the semifinals, and her lone straight-sets victory was notable on its own: a 6-3, 6-3, win over No.11 seed and World No.18 Julie Halard-Decugis in the third round was the American's second career Top 20 victory. 

After beginning her tournament with three-set wins against Amy Frazier and Olga Barabanschikova, Stevenson's most dramatic victory came in her second match against a fellow American during the fortnight: a fourth round clash with unseeded Lisa Raymond, ranked World No.37.

Raymond, then age 25, had scored notable victories of her own over No.7 seed Sánchez Vicario and former Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez in the second and third rounds, and was bidding for her first career Grand Slam quarterfinal in her third appearance in the round of 16. 

The University of Florida alumna would eventually become a Wimbledon quarterfinalist 12 months later in 2000, but on this day, proved unable to convert a match point as Stevenson rallied for what became a 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-1 victory. 

A clash of the qualifiers was on the cards next, where Stevenson dispatched Dokic, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, to earn her historic semifinal berth, before seeing her run ended by eventual champion Lindsay Davenport.  

In photos: Artists of the upset: First-week shocks at Wimbledon since 1999

THE MEANING: Stevenson's run to the last four earned her several distinctions, both at the Championships and in the Open Era.

By beating Dokic, she was the first female qualifier in tournament's history to reach the semifinals and second player overall, having matched the 1977 feat of compatriot John McEnroe. 

In addition, she equaled the feats of Chris Evert and Anna Kournikova by advancing that far in her Wimbledon debut, and improved her ranking by 50 places from World No.86 to World No.36.

Later in 1999, Stevenson won a bronze medal representing the United States at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, and reached the semifinals of the mixed doubles at the US Open alongside compatriot Brian MacPhie.

Stevenson's rise ultimately took her to a Top 20 ranking in 2002, where she peaked at a career-best World No.18 and reached two WTA singles finals.

That same year, she also captured her lone WTA doubles crown in Leipzig, Germany alongside Serena Williams - the lone doubles title in her career to date that Williams has won with a partner other than her sister, Venus. 

While Stevenson was hampered by injuries for much of her career from then on, she and Dokic would in fact meet for an eighth and final time, seven years after they first played for history.

In the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon in 2006, Stevenson, entered with a protected ranking, beat Dokic, who received a wildcard, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.