Federer and Djokovic in the semis.
Former champion Petra Kvitova saw off fellow Czech Lucie Safarova in straight sets to return to the Wimbledon final, the BBC reports.
Kvitova, seeded sixth, won 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 in the first all-Czech semi-final at a Grand Slam.
“It was a tough match mentally because Lucie is a great friend of mine. I am just happy that I won,” Kvitova told BBC Sport afterwards.
“I tried to be focussed from the start of the second set and I managed to break her service in the first game and just kept it going and I served well.
“I am just very emotional from this match but I have two days before the final to focus but I know how it feels to lift that trophy so I will try my best to do it again.”
Kvitova and Safarova are good friends, Fed Cup team-mates and train at the same club in Prostejov.
At 24, Kvitova was the younger by three years, but the senior partner in terms of achievement.
A Grand Slam winner already, she had a 5-0 record against Safarova, a heavier serve and more potent attacking game – but Safarova was far from overawed on her Centre Court debut.
Milos Raonic will take on seven-time former champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals at Wimbledon on Friday, while Novak Djokovic, who captured the 2011 Wimbledon title will meet No. 11 seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Roger Federer advanced to his 35th Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday at The Championships as he fought from a set down to beat Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4. It was the first all-Swiss quarter-final at Wimbledon, according to atpworldtour.com.
The 32-year-old Federer is bidding to win an unprecedented eighth Wimbledon crown and goes on to face Raonic for a place in his ninth final at the All England Club. The Basel native lifted the Wimbledon trophy in 2003-’07, ’09 and ’12; his only final defeat came in 2008 against Rafael Nadal. He has a 72-8 tournament record, the second best mark in the Open Era behind Jimmy Connors (84-18).
Raonic, the eighth seed, advanced to his first Grand Slam championship semi-final by beating Rafael Nadal’s conqueror, wild card Nick Kyrgios, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(4) on Wednesday night on No. 1 Court at the All England Club, Wimbledon. The match lasted two hours and 24 minutes.
In his turn top seed Novak Djokovic drew on his big-match experience to defeat No. 26 seed Marin Cilic at The Championships on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals. Djokovic recovered from a two-sets-to-one deficit by winning 12 of the last 16 games to record a 6-1, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2 victory in three hours and 18 minutes on No. 1 Court at the All England Club.
His adversary in the semis, No. 11 seed Grigor Dimitrov, will break into the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday.
Dimitrov beat defending champion Andy Murray on Centre Court on Wednesday. “It’s a big win for Grigor,” said Djokovic, who is coached by three-time former Wimbledon titlist Boris Becker. “He has been on fire the past six months. He has won a couple of titles, including on grass at Queen’s [the Aegon Championships]. He is unbeaten on grass this year, so he is the player to beat.”
