The balls kept on listening to Iga Swiatek on Wednesday as the Polish eighth seed walloped Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
After years of nightmare outings at the spiritual home of lawn tennis, Swiatek appears to have finally conquered her grasscourt demons as she said the "ball has been really listening" to her at Wimbledon this year.
That was certainly in evidence on Wednesday as from the moment Swiatek launched into a 105mph ace to save break point in the opening game, the ball dutifully obeyed the Pole as winner after winner flew off her racket.
"Honestly, it feels great. I have goosebumps after this win. I am super happy and super proud of myself and I will keep going," a thrilled Swiatek told the crowd after setting up a semi-final showdown with unseeded Swiss Belinda Bencic.
"I really enjoy playing (on grass) this year and hopefully it is going to last as long as possible. I worked really hard to progress here on this surface."
From 2-2 in the first set, the five-times Grand Slam champion suffocated her Russian opponent on a hot and sticky Court One, winning seven games in a row with some ferocious forehands from the baseline that left Samsonova gasping for air.
There was simply no place to hide for Samsonova, who does not like discovering the identity of her opponents until the 11th hour, as Swiatek won all of her first serve points during the opening set.
Swiatek must have thought she would be back in her rented Wimbledon home before too long to tuck into her favourite dish -- pasta tossed with strawberries and yoghurt -- as she led 6-1 3-0.
However, Samsonova hung on for dear life despite surrendering her serve twice in the second set by misfiring double faults on break points.
The 19th seed, who was inspired to pick up a tennis racket after watching compatriot Maria Sharapova playing on TV, managed to break the Swiatek serve not once but twice to level the second set at 4-4.
The fightback failed to throw off Swiatek, however, as the Pole never dropped her incredible intensity and continued to threaten to take the racket out of her opponent's hand with the astonishing power she was generating from the baseline.
So loud was the thundering 'thwack' sound as her racket made contact with the ball that startled spectators were often jolted in their seats. It also unnerved Samsonova, whose Wimbledon hopes crumbled under 38 unforced and 16 forced errors.
Four games later it was all over as Swiatek skipped around the court in celebration after hitting a brutal service return winner to complete her full set of semi-final appearances at the four majors.
Swiss mum Bencic through to her first Wimbledon semi-final
Switzerland's Belinda Bencic won two tiebreaks to beat teenage Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3) 7-6(2) on Wednesday and become a first-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
The only mother left in the singles draw had four match points after Andreeva double-faulted in the second tiebreak on Centre Court and needed only the one, sealing victory with a smash at the net.
The first Swiss woman to make it to the last four since Martina Hingis in 1998 will now play Poland's five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek for a place in the final.
Andreeva, 18, fired four aces in the opening set to none for Bencic but there was next to nothing between the closely-matched pair until the Russian netted a couple of forehands in the ensuing tiebreak.
Bencic then had two break points at 4-4 in the second set, Andreeva saving one before hitting long to go 5-4 down and leaving the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion to serve for the match.
Andreeva refused to follow the script, however, and broke straight back to 5-5 before going to 6-5 with 28-year-old Bencic, who had her daughter Bella in April last year, then serving to take the match to another tiebreak.
The Swiss raced to a 6-2 lead and wasted no further time with the match already entering its third hour, despite hobbling slightly with what she said later was a cracked toenail.
"It's crazy, it's unbelievable. It's a dream come true," Bencic said.
"I tried not to think about it at the match point. I'm just speechless. It is my second Grand Slam semi-final overall and my first at Wimbledon. Just speechless, so happy," added the 28-year-old.
The sound of a champagne cork popping was something of an omen when it stopped Bencic mid-serve in the second set. She won the point and gave a thumbs up in the direction of the offender.
"I studied all evening yesterday to come up with a plan. I think it worked out well," she said. "With two tiebreaks it is not easy, it's just a small edge."
Bencic's only other Grand Slam semi-final was at the 2019 U.S. Open, when she lost to Canada's eventual winner Bianca Andreescu.
Now back in the top 20 after maternity leave, she was proud of what she had achieved.
"I didn't say it to myself much before but since having Bella I say it to myself every day," she told the crowd.
"It's not only me, I wouldn't be able to do it without my amazing family and team. We worked so hard on the comeback.
"We are enjoying life on tour and to play great is a bonus. I'm generally just really happy to be able to play again because my body allows it."
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