Agnieszka Radwanska, the third seed, reached her first semi-final in a major tournament late on Tuesday as she fought off a valiant Maria Kirilenko 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in a match that included four rain delays and a late switching of courts. The Pole earned the crucial break for 6-5 in the final set and then served out for victory.
Radwanska will now play Germany's Angelique Kerber for a place in the final and her win also means she could still become world No1 – if she wins the title and Victoria Azarenka loses in the other semi-final.
The match finished at 9.48pm on Centre Court, having begun at 2.19pm on Court One, where rain forced the players off court four times. Their last departure was at 7.46pm when the scores were level at 4-4 in the final set, but both agreed to move to Centre Court after the conclusion of scheduled play there, and Radwanska held her nerve for victory.
"I think today for me was like 40 hours, I was on and off all the time, waiting in the locker room pretty much the whole day," said Radwanska, a former Wimbledon junior champion. "It was windy, raining and then we played under the roof but I am very happy that I could close it out.
"They told me right away on Court One when we came off that we could play on Centre. I think it's better to finish it today under the roof. I am just very happy I could reach the semi-final for the first time."
When they did resume on Centre Court, in front of only a few hundred remaining fans, the world No19 Kirilenko held serve to lead 5-4 and was twice two points from victory on the Radwanska serve. But the Pole stayed firm to level at 5-5 and then broke in the next game before serving out under pressure to reach the last four.