Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams set up a rematch of the 2016 Wimbledon final as Jelena Ostapenko and Julia Goerges were ousted in the semi-finals.
Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at Thursday’s highlights.
Post of the day
One of the most discussed questions of the week was answered when Kensington Palace announced that Williams’ friend Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, will attend Saturday’s women’s final.
Shot of the day
Williams showed she is back to her most agile. After Goerges clawed an attempted lob back, the 25th seed raced across court to send a backhand winner sizzling into the corner.
Match of the day
Seventh seeds Mike Bryan and Jack Sock looked to be making light work of the British-Croatian pair of Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor as they led by two sets in next to no time. Inglot and Skugor put any post-World Cup hostilities aside to come back and send it to a decider, only for the Americans to finish the job.
A good day for…
Fresh from knocking out the top seeds in the previous round, British pair Jay Clarke and Harriet Dart moved into the semi-finals of the mixed doubles. In just their fourth match together, and first on Centre Court, Clarke, 19, and Dart, 21, beat Juan Sebastian Cabal and Abigail Spears 7-6 (12/10) 7-5. They will tackle Jamie Murray and Victoria Azarenka for a place in the final.
A bad day for…
Ostapenko only knows one way to play and that is to adopt an all-out attacking policy. When it fires she can beat anyone but when she has an off day she looks erratic and reckless. Unfortunately it was a day to forget against Kerber as a slew of unforced errors gave her little chance of winning.
Quote of the day
“Sleeping in my own bed. That’s the biggest reward I think for me. Maybe I get a doner kebab at home when I come back home. That’s a good thing to do.” – German Goerges was focusing on the positives after her tournament was ended by Williams.
Stat of the day
Williams is getting better the further she goes in the tournament, which is not news Kerber will want to hear. In her semi-final with Goerges she produced just seven unforced errors, a significant improvement from previous rounds.
Friday’s match of the day
One of the great recent rivalries resumes on Centre Court as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal battle it out in the second semi-final, with Djokovic enjoying a 26-25 lead in their head to head. Both men are having a Wimbledon resurgence this year, playing some great tennis, and this has potential to be a classic. It is their fourth meeting on grass, with two wins for Nadal and one for Djokovic so far.
Friday’s Centre Court order of play
Kevin Anderson v John Isner; Novak Djokovic v Rafael Nadal
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