Wimbledon 2024 LIVE: Tennis scores and updates from women’s semi-final day as Paolini plays Vekic

A much more routine hold of serve from Rybakina, who doesn’t give up a point en route to making it 3-2.

Krejcikova with a strong start to this service game of hers, moving to 30-0.

The Czech then earns triple game point as Rybakina whips a forehand wide, leaving the former champion shaking her head.

Krejcikova stoops for a backhand but can’t lift it over the tape, and that’s a game point gone begging. 40-15.

But she takes the next one with a clever drop shot on the forehand!

After a bit of resistance, Rybakina seals an important hold to stay on serve early in this final set.

It’s been a strange match overall, a little stilted in honesty, but engaging nonetheless!

Krejcikova moves to 40-0 and is poised for a hold to love… but she double-faults. 40-15.

First set point gone, then, but two remaining for now…

Another one gone begging! Krejcikova frames a forehand, and it loops over Rybakina and beyond the baseline. 40-30.

There goes the third!! Rybakina moves up to the net and clinically puts away a forehand in the corner! Deuce…

Krejcikova earns another set point, but she double-faults!

Eventually Rybakina misses a forehand, putting it long to end a fairly lengthy rally, and Krejcikova has a fifth set point…

But on her sixth try, Krejcikova converts! We’re going to a decider!

The crowd has really grown into this match over the course of the last few games!

It provides its loudest offering yet as Krejcikova, against the odds, reaches the net and flicks a winner up the line.

That shot keeps her on track for a hold… and there it is! She leads 5-2.

Rybakina will serve to keep this set alive. What a turn of events…

Errors have started to really creep into Rybakina’s game, and the surrenders a break of serve!

Krejcikova was just keeping herself in this match at first; now she leads this second set 4-2…

Big hold from Krejcikova!

A deep return at 15-15 by Rybakina gives her the momentum in this game but a big serve by the Czech brings it back to 30-30.

Yet Krejcikoca goes wayward with a forehand and it’s break point for the fourth seed – but the underdog finds a terrific ace out wide!

Krejcikova gets herself to ad and then seals the game with a brilliant inside-out forehand! Stunning stuff!

She lets out a huge scream as she inches ahead again in this second set!

Given those chances which went amiss in the last game, a good quick hold for Rybakina there.

A big hold in that third game of the set for Krejcikova, who saves break points in the process!

Is that the spark the Czech needs to launch a comeback?

As a 57^th and final unforced error sprung off Donna Vekic’s forehand and into the tramline, Jasmine Paolini ran towards her player box in complete and utter euphoria. This year’s breakthrough star on the tennis tour – that goes for men and women – has reached a second Grand Slam final in a matter of weeks. At the end of this titanic battle, she blew a kiss to her corner and then consoled her heartbroken opponent.

As the old adage goes, it felt cruel that somebody had to lose. Both Vekic and Paolini were contesting their first semi-final at Wimbledon and their desperation to reach Saturday’s showpiece was writ large throughout this absorbing battle of wills. In the end, only a first-to-10 final-set tie-break could separate them – and even then, there was barely a flip of a coin between them. Match of the tournament? Possibly so.