LONDON >> Iga Swiatek reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova that went from a stroll to a bit of a struggle in the late stages Wednesday.

“Even though I’m in the middle of the tournament, I already got goosebumps after this win,” said Swiatek, who will face unseeded Belinda Bencic on Thursday for a spot in the final. “I’m super happy and super proud of myself.”

Bencic beat No. 7 Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2019 U.S. Open. The other women’s semifinal is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka against No. 13 Amanda Anisimova; they advanced with wins Tuesday.

“It doesn’t end here,” Bencic said.

There will be quite a showdown in the men’s semifinals Friday, when 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic takes on No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Djokovic ended up face-down in the grass at Centre Court on a late fall but that didn’t prevent him from beating No. 22 Flavio Cobolli 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 Wednesday. Sinner defeated No. 10 Ben Shelton 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 while showing barely any signs of the right elbow injury he picked up on a tumble during his previous match.

The other men’s matchup Friday is two-time defending champ Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 5 Taylor Fritz.

Swiatek is a five-time major champion, with four of those titles on the red clay of the French Open, and the other on the hard courts of the U.S. Open. She’s also twice been a semifinalist at the hard-court Australian Open.