In-form Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne battled past French qualifier Severine Bremond 6-4 6-4 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
In the last four the 2001 runner-up faces either China's Li Na or Belgian second seed Kim Clijsters.
Henin-Hardenne has now won her last 16 matches after retaining her French Open title last month and winning the Eastbourne grasscourt warmup event.
The 24-year-old is seeking to complete her set of grand slam titles by winning Wimbledon and the third seed's all-round court skills allowed her eventually to outplay Bremond on court one.
Henin-Hardenne took a tight first set with a decisive break for 5-4 against an opponent who showed few nerves despite being ranked 129 and playing in her first grand slam quarter-final.
Bremond had beaten three seeded players, including Swiss number eight Patty Schnyder, to reach the last eight.
The 26-year-old showed her fighting qualities by making a real contest of the second set despite losing the first three games.
Henin-Hardenne's backhand was noticeably better than her opponent's, though, and she held her serve together to seal victory with a backhand volley on her first match point.
In the last four the experienced Belgian will be trying to reach her third grand slam final of the year. She lost the Australian Open final to France's Amelie Mauresmo after retiring with a stomach upset but beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova last month to win the French Open for the third time.
