Gary Rose
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Difficult start for Belinda Bencic. Aside from that fall there feels to be other issues at play in that for the first time at these Championships she's not looking particularly composed.

It is a different story on the other side of the net. Iga Swiatek oozes calmness and looks locked on and focused. The quality of the tennis she is producing at the moment backs that up.

Over on Court One, British pair Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool are in control of their men's doubles semi-final against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Cash and Glasspool earned a break to lead 4-2 with the rest of the set staying on serve.

Slight delay in the match due to a medical issue in the crowd.

The players are back on court but they're just waiting for the go-ahead.

Perfect start for Iga Swiatek.

She aces to finish off her service game to 15.

The Pole's given up just two points on her serve so far.

David Law
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

Belinda Bencic is once again stretching - the left knee seems to be the issue.

Iga Swiatek gets the break at the first time of asking.

It's been some start from the Pole.

Bit of a concern for Belinda Bencic. She seemed to hyper-extend her knee at 15-30. She's still stretching it out now.

Image source, Getty Images

Opportunity for Iga Swiatek in Belinda Bencic's first service game...

Annabel Croft
Former British number one on BBC Radio 5 Live

Belinda Bencic doesn't look very intimated out here at the moment. She's just been middling the ball and has struck that forehand absolutely beautifully out of the centre of the strings.

Emphatic start from Iga Swiatek.

The Pole holds to 15, hitting two thunderous forehand winners in the process.

Iga Swiatek, serving first, gets us under way on Centre Court.

Gary Rose
BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Best settle in because encounters between these two have lasted quite long in recent years, with their last meeting going on for over three hours.

That was in an epic fourth-round match at Wimbledon in 2023, with Iga Swiatek coming back from the brink to progress.

We're heading into the late afternoon but the sun is still beating down fiercely on Centre Court. I'm not sure either will want an lengthy encounter in this heat.

Melissa Sharman
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, BBC Sport

Belinda Bencic had a little helper this morning while she prepared for her semi-final against Iga Swiatek... her daughter Bella was beside her while she was doing sit-ups and the one-year-old then decided to explore the mini hurdles.

Bencic and Swiatek are second on Centre Court today.

Image source, EPA

Belinda Bencic knew what she would be thinking about before she went to sleep last night.

The Swiss player uses the time before she drifts off to visualise her gameplan for her next match and her next opponent.

Next up for Bencic is five-time major winner Iga Swiatek in a Wimbledon semi-final

"She is a big challenge and I'm really excited to play her. We've had some close matches. I will come up with a plan," Bencic said.

Explaining her method of preparation, she said: "I'm not so much of a writer. For me it's more like imagining some plays.

"It's important for me to do it before I go to sleep. While I'm falling asleep, I go through it unconsciously.

"It's something that happens naturally and then I'm able to kind of memorise it a little bit."

Image source, Getty Images

Few would have picked Belinda Bencic as a potential Wimbledon semi-finalist prior to this summer's tournament getting under way, but the world number 35 has leaped over every hurdle in her path so far.

Since making her Grand Slam debut in 2014, Bencic has struggled to reach the latter stages with great regularity.

Her best run came in 2019 when reaching the semi-finals of the US Open and she has twice made it to the quarter-finals that major.

Bencic had never gone beyond the fourth round at SW19 before this campaign.

She has already beaten two seeds in Ekaterina Alexandrova and Mirra Andreeva, but semi-final opponent Iga Swiatek should pose a sterner test.

Swiatek has won three of the four previous meetings with Bencic.

BBC Sport pundit Tracy Austin says Belinda Bencic's decision to not play defensive on the second serve by staying behind the baseline helped the Swiss 35th ranked player see-off seventh seed Mirra Andreeva in straight sets to reach the semi-finals.

Image source, Getty Images

In five previous appearances at Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek has not made it beyond the quarter-finals - reaching that stage just once.

But Wednesday's win over Luidmila Samsonova sealed Swiatek a spot in the semi-finals as she looks to edge closer to a sixth Grand Slam title.

The Pole is enjoying her best form on grass, winning eight matches on the surface in 2025 - the most she has managed in a season.

"It feels great. I got goosebumps after this win," Swiatek said after beating Samsonova.

"I really worked hard to progress on this surface. This year I will just work with it and myself."

Amanda Anisimova's reward for beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka is a date with either Belinda Bencic or eighth seed Iga Swiatek on Saturday.

Bencic and Swiatek are due on Centre Court for their semi-final at 16:45 BST.

Marion Bartoli
Former Wimbledon champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds

It's one thing to know that you have to try to put Aryna Sabalenka on the defensive side, it's another thing to actually have the weapons to do that.

Amanda Anisimova always had the potential, but she needed to put everything back together in order for her to be able to play at the level she played today.

Since 1990, Amanda Anisimova is the fourth player to defeat the world number one at Wimbledon en route to a maiden Grand Slam final after Zina Garrison (1990), Marion Bartoli (2007) and Sabine Lisicki (2013).

Amanda Anisimova, speaking on court about on reaching the final: "This doesn't feel real right now. Aryna is such a tough competitor. I was dying out there. She's such an incredible competitor, such an inspiration to me and so many other players. We had so many tough battles and to come on top today to get into the final at Wimbledon is incredibly special. The atmosphere was special today. I know she's number one but so many were cheering for me so I just want to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone."

On whether she had the belief to get back to this stage: "To be honest if you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon I would not believe you. Especially not this soon. It's been a year's turnaround. So many dream of competing on this court. To be in the final is just indescribable, honestly."

On plans for the rest of the day: "I mean I'll be around for the next few hours so I'm sure I'll get a glimpse. It will be an incredible match. Hopefully I can finally spend some time with my family. I knew today would be important but it's still relatively early so I'll make some time for you guys."