As Anisimova closed in on victory in the final set, she sealed a hold of serve when one of her shots clipped the net cord and fell on the other side of the net, with Sabalenka scraping at the turf and ball but failing to return it.

The No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka faces off against No. 13 Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon women's singles semifinals on Thursday.

The other semifinal features two prominent names in women’s tennis — Iga Świątek (No. 8 seed) and Bencic (who upset 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 7 seed). This is as far as Świątek and Bencic have made it at Wimbledon, and the Swiss player has done it just over a year after having a daughter, Bella.