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Wimbledon briefing: Day 10 recap and order of play for women's semi-finals

Wimbledon briefing: Day 10 recap and order of play for women's semi-finals

Novak Djokovic reached yet another Wimbledon semi-final while Iga Swiatek finally broke through her grass ceiling on Wednesday.
The women's semi-finals take place on Thursday with Aryna Sabalenka taking on Amanda Anisimova and Swiatek battling Belinda Bencic.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at Wednesday's action and previews day 11 of the Championships.
Djokovic sets up Sinner clash
Novak Djokovic reached a men's record 14th Wimbledon semi-final by overcoming the spirited challenge of Flavio Cobolli 6-7 (6) 6-2 7-5 6-4.
He will next face world number one Jannik Sinner, who shrugged off any concerns about his injured elbow as he dismantled Ben Shelton in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz is the only player to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon since 2017 but, while Sinner has lost both their previous meetings at the All England Club, the Italian has already knocked the 24-time grand slam champion out of the Australian Open and French Open this season.
Swiatek's grass breakthrough
Iga Swiatek smashed through her grass ceiling as she made the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
The 24-year-old, a four-time French Open champion, swept aside Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5 on Court One to complete the set of grand slam last-four appearances.
She will next face 2021 Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, who ended the teenage dreams of Mirra Andreeva to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final in her first year back in SW19 following the birth of daughter Bella in April 2024.
Brit watch
Britain's Joe Salisbury will bid for a seventh grand slam title when he teams up with Brazilian Luisa Stefani in the mixed doubles final on Thursday.
The pair, who will take on Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands and Czech Katerina Siniakova, only entered at the last minute after Salisbury's original partner, Jodie Burrage, suffered an ankle injury.
Salisbury has trophies from all the other slams across men's and mixed doubles but is yet to lift silverware at Wimbledon.
'It would be amazing,' he said. 'For me it's the main one. To win Wimbledon is the biggest tournament.'
Match of the day
Aryna Sabalenka is one win away from reaching the final of a fourth straight grand slam but her first at Wimbledon.
The three-time major winner must overcome a player who holds a winning record against her in Thursday's first semi-final.
Amanda Anisimova has been victorious in five of their eight meetings, but has never reached the final of a grand slam.
The big-hitting duo are sure to provide plenty of thrills in the first match on Centre Court.
Order of play
Centre Court (from 1.30pm)
Aryna Sabalenka (1) v Amanda Anisimova (13)
Iga Swiatek (8) v Belinda Bencic
Salisbury /Stefani v Verbeek/Siniakova (mixed doubles final)
Court One (from 1pm)
Arevalo/Pavic (1) v Hijikata/Pel (men's doubles)
Cash/Glasspool (5) v Granollers/Zeballos (4) (men's doubles)
Hewett/Reid v Caverzaschi/Oda (wheelchair doubles)
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Matthew McConaughey is praised for standing up and applauding Princess at Wimbledon
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This is a rivalry that is set to grow, and shift, and expand, and produce twists and turns. The joy of the three-way confrontation between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is the way they each used the period between slams to work on new weapons, the better to probe the weaknesses of the others, or to address those that had been exposed. It was an evolutionary dynamic of beauty and power that Darwin would have recognised and, I suspect, been thrilled by. Jannik Sinner is, to my mind, the better all-round player right now in sport's new and most enticing rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz. He was rather uncertain against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round and could easily have lost had his opponent not endured an agonising injury at two sets up, but against Alcaraz on Sunday he seemed better in most departments, as he had in Paris until he blinked at match points up, and the Spaniard caught fire in the cauldron of that captivating final set. 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And this process found thrilling success when he defeated Nadal at the Australian Open in 2017, perhaps the most meaningful triumph of his career — just as Djokovic adapted to Nadal, and Nadal to Djokovic, all daring each other to ever greater heights. This is what set to unfold between Sinner and Alcaraz — and isn't it a wonderful metaphor for life? The technical differences between the two men are vivid. The Italian has more efficient ground shots, less force expended in the delivery, more minimalistic in the follow through, and unquestionably more energy preserved in the longer exchanges. Alcaraz, 22, is more explosive, with more rotation and spin (on the forehand), more creative in shot selection, and more athletic around the court. 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