Aryna Sabalenka reached her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final while Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova made their first at Wimbledon and former champion Angelique Kerber her fourth in the women’s quarter-final matches on Tuesday.
World No 1 Barty kept alive her dream of winning the women’s Wimbledon title on the 50th anniversary of fellow indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s first win by easing into the semi-finals.
The 25-year-old outclassed unseeded compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-3 to set up what promises to be a far more serious test of her ability on Thursday when she faces 2018 champion Angelique Kerber.
Second seed Sabalenka ended Ons Jabeur’s historic run at Wimbledon, power getting the better of the guile of the Tunisian 6-4, 6-3 in 74 minutes.
The 23-year-old, who had only won one match on her three previous visits to Wimbledon, will play former No 1 Karolina Pliskova who eased into the last four with a straight sets win over Viktorija Golubic.
Pliskova, now ranked 13, reached her first Wimbledon semi-final with a 6-2, 6-2 win. Pliskova has yet to drop a set at Wimbledon this year and has been broken just three times in five rounds. Her eight aces on Tuesday, meanwhile, took her tournament tally to 40.
Sabalenka will try and go one better than compatriot Viktoria Azarenka who twice reached the last four in 2011 and 2012.
Former champion Kerber reached the semi-finals for the fourth time with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
Hurkacz downs daniil
Hubert Hurkacz became just the fourth Polish man to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Tuesday with a five-set win over Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev.
World number 18 Hurkacz triumphed 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match held over from Monday due to rain and will now face Roger Federer for a place in the semi-finals.
“For this sport, Roger is unbelievable, what he does, how he plays and the titles he has won throughout his career. He inspired so many people and it’s going to be fun,” said Hurkacz.
The Pole has only met Federer once — a straight sets loss at Indian Wells in the quarter-finals in 2019.
His run to the Wimbledon last-eight is impressive as he had won just one match on tour between his surprise Miami Masters title in March and the start of Wimbledon.