An incredible final four was set at Wimbledon after each women’s quarterfinal was won by the more highly-fancied player.
Three current or former world No.1s in Ash Barty, Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova, plus No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, advanced to the semifinals after straight-sets wins on Tuesday.
The men’s quarterfinal schedule was also confirmed when Hubert Hurkacz recovered from two-sets-to-one down to upset second seed Daniil Medvedev.
Barty, Kerber, Sabalenka, Pliskova impress
World No.1 Barty completed the semifinal line-up with a comprehensive 6-1 6-3 over fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Barty unleashed 23 winners to five in a magnificent display on Centre Court, controlling the tempo of the match with her slice backhand and sealing the 66-minute win with her fifth ace.
She is the first Australian women into the Wimbledon semifinals since Jelena Dokic in 2000 and will next meet Kerber, the three-time major champion who earlier brushed aside 19th seed Karolina Muchova.
Kerber was far too steady for the Czech – Muchova’s unforced error tally tripled that of her winners – and advanced to her first major semifinal since her title-winning run at Wimbledon three years ago.
She has now won 10 consecutive matches, having won the WTA Bad Homburg title on grass the week prior to Wimbledon.
In the bottom half of the draw, big-hitting stars Sabalenka and Pliskova advanced to their first Wimbledon semifinals, taking another step closer to their first Grand Slam singles titles.
Sabalenka beat Ons Jabeur in the most competitive of Tuesday’s quarterfinals, eventually winning the high-quality encounter 6-4 6-3 to end the Tunisian’s magnificent run at the All England Club.
Pliskova, in the first match of the day on No.1 Court, executed cleanly and efficiently to dismiss unlikely quarterfinalist Viktorija Golubic.
The Czech slotted eight aces, won 83 per cent of her first-serve points and belted 28 winners to 10 to overwhelm the 66th-ranked Swiss.
Stat of the day
The 6-2 6-2 victory over Golubic means Pliskova has now advanced to the semifinals at all four major tournaments.
Interestingly, her career-best run at SW19 came just over a week after she fell outside the top 10 for the first time in five years.
Pliskova joins Serena and Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep in an illustrious group of active female players to have completed their Grand Slam semifinal set.
Hurkacz upsets Medvedev, Federer next
Hurkacz and Medvedev opened the Centre Court schedule in a fourth-round match held over from Monday.
And although world No.2 Medvedev appeared in command with a two-sets-to-one lead, it was Poland’s Hurkacz who took control when they resumed battle.
Hurkacz won five of the first six games to snatch the fourth set and move ahead 3-1 in the third.
Serving big and successfully rushing the net in a traditional display of grass-court tennis, he beat the Russian 2-6 7-6(2) 3-6 6-3 6-3.
He faces idol Roger Federer in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Tweet of the day
This is what it means #semifinal ❤️ @wimbledon pic.twitter.com/xHvt2hZYHg
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) July 6, 2021
Quotes of the day
"I think today I was able to use my weapons a little bit better and just bring the ball back into my patterns a bit more regularly. I certainly wasn't as loose as I have been with errors and kind of ill-timed lapses, I suppose. But I felt really sharp today."
- Ash Barty, who appears to be peaking at the perfect time at Wimbledon.
"Against me she looked pretty sharp. I do hope she wins it. It would make me happy to see her lift the trophy here."
- Ajla Tomljanovic on fellow Australian Ash Barty.
"I think this tournament, it's like everyone wants to play here her best tennis. You see it now, who is in the semis. I think it's also good for the crowd to see like three former No. 1 players. Sabalenka is No. 2 seeded. I think it's really interesting to see that. I'm really happy that I'm one of the four (smiling)."
- Angelique Kerber
"Today it's surprise me but I didn't feel that pressure of being in the quarterfinal for the first time. I was just enjoying the atmosphere and enjoying my game, just doing everything I can to win this match. So it was great performance for me."
- Aryna Sabalenka
"It means a lot, of course. Especially after not really having many good weeks before Wimbledon, it feels like a dream a bit. I believe at some point I will find my game. I'm just happy it work out well in these two weeks. Of course it was my last Grand Slam missing the semifinal, so I'm happy now I have all of them."
- Karolina Pliskova
Day 9: Ones to watch
It’s men’s quarterfinal day at Wimbledon, and Federer and Novak Djokovic – who have combined for 13 Wimbledon titles – headline Wednesday’s Centre Court schedule.
Djokovic begins the day against first-time major quarterfinalist Marton Fucsovics as he continues his quest for a third straight Grand Slam title – and 20th overall.
Federer, who owns 20 major trophies himself, faces Hurkacz and is aiming to become the oldest men's Grand Slam semifinalist since 42-year-old Ken Rosewall at Australian Open 1977.
ORDER OF PLAY: Wimbledon Day 9
On No.1 Court, Canadian rising stars Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime play back-to-back, with Shapovalov favoured to come through against Karen Khachanov given the blistering form he has displayed in wins over Andy Murray and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Auger-Aliassime, into a Slam quarterfinal for the first time, faces an incredibly tough test against Queen’s champion Matteo Berrettini, the powerful Italian who is seeking his 10th win in a row.