Of the 128 women that started in the main draw at Wimbledon, only four have managed to make it to the semi-finals, which this year will comprise three experienced campaigners and a first time Grand Slam semi-finalist.
The top half semi-final will see Serena Williams start favourite to continue her dominance of Maria Sharapova, while Agnieszka Radwanska will face off against rising Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in the bottom half semi-final.
Let’s have a look at the two women’s semi-finals in detail.
Serena Williams (1) versus Maria Sharapova (4)
Head-to-head: Williams 17-2
Last meeting: Williams 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), final, 2015 Australian Open
For world number one Serena Williams, a sixth Wimbledon title, 21st Grand Slam title overall and second non-calendar Grand Slam all beckon.
Nothing will stand in her way of achieving all that, as she will start as the hot favourite to continue her dominance of Maria Sharapova which dates all the way back to early 2005.
In spite of her dominance at the Grand Slams this year, the American has not had everything go her way, having had to endure nine three-setters in the 19 matches she has played at this level this year.
Here, she was just two points away from defeat against Heather Watson in the third round while she had to come from a set down to defeat Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals.
By contrast, Sharapova rode a smoother path into the quarter-finals, not dropping a set before she was forced to draw on all her experience to edge out rising American Coco Vandeweghe in her quarter-final match, winning in three sets.
If the Russian is to have any chance of ending her decade-long hoodoo against Williams, then she must hope that the American doesn’t turn up for the match on Thursday – Sharapova has lost her last 16 meetings in a row against Williams, 13 of them in straight sets.
This ranges from the most humiliating (0-6, 1-6 in the gold medal match at the 2012 London Olympics) to the most heartbreaking (6-2, 5-7, 6-8 in the semi-finals of the 2005 Australian Open, the first match of this streak).
In fact, you’d have to go all the way back to the final of the 2004 WTA Tour Championships to find her most recent win over the American. The Russian’s only other win was right here at Wimbledon in 2004 when she won the title as a 17-year-old and in the process thwarted Williams’ bid for a Wimbledon hat-trick.
But with Serena Williams just two wins and four sets away from a second non-calendar Grand Slam, Sharapova’s woes against the American do not look like ending anytime soon.
Prediction: Serena Williams in straight sets.
Garbine Muguruza (20) versus Agnieszka Radwanska (13)
Head-to-head: Tied 2-all
Last meeting: Muguruza 6-4, 6-2, third round, 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships
Only the experience of 13th seed and former finalist Agnieszka Radwanska stands in the way of Garbine Muguruza becoming the first Spanish woman since Conchita Martinez at the 2000 French Open to reach a Grand Slam final.
The 21-year-old endured a poor lead-up to Wimbledon but that didn’t stop her from excelling at the All England Club, where she has defeated higher-ranked opponents such as Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki to become the first Spanish woman since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1997 to get this far at SW19.
Her straight-sets victory over Timea Bacsinszky in the quarter-finals has thrust her into her first Grand Slam semi-final where Radwanska now awaits.
The 13th-seeded Pole endured a poor first half of the year, including losing in the first round of the French Open in May, but has rediscovered her form at the All England Club where she reached her maiden Grand Slam final three years ago.
The 26-year-old defeated Madison Keys in three sets to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final since last year’s Australian Open, and is guaranteed to return to the top 10 when the rankings are updated next week.
She was the most experienced player to reach the quarter-finals from the bottom half of the draw, therefore she assumed the mantle as the favourite to reach the final following defending champion Petra Kvitova’s third round departure.
In contrast to the lopsided head-to-head in the top half semi-final, this one shapes as the most interesting. After Radwanska won the first two meetings at Miami in 2012 and at the Australian Open last year, Muguruza has hit back to level the head-to-head at two-all, with both her wins coming in Sydney and Dubai this year.
In the end, Radwanska’s experience in having reached the final here in 2012, where she lost to Serena Williams in three sets, and her grass court expertise will prove the difference in the second women’s semi-final.
Prediction: Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets.
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