Ons Jabeur became the first Arab player to reach a Wimbledon final, beating her friend Tatjana Maria in three sets, while Elena Rybakina demolished Simona Halep in two, to reach her first final

So all that’s left for us to do is look forward to the men’s semis tomorrow. We get away with Djokovic v Norrie, which of course could be a blow-out – if Norrie brings his Goffin game it absolutely will be. But if he finds his best level or close to it, his combination of spin, power and lefty angle can cause a few problems, though ultimately probably not enough.

Nadal, meanwhile, seems unlikely to be 100% fit, but his forehand and his wiles will still be out there with him. He’ll have to play better than he did against Fritz, injury or not, because Kyrgios is serving so well he’s unlikely to find many chances to break – though once the points are in progress, Nadal has so many more weapons to end them.

Which is to say that a tenth Djokovic v Nadal final looks like the likeliest outcome, but if this Wimbledon has reminded us of anything, it’s that we play because we don’t know what’s going to happen.

Anyhow, that’s it from me – join us again tomorrow and over the weekend for the staggering denouement. Peace!

Our report of the first semi:

One of the moments of The Championships 💜💚 pic.twitter.com/JfOerhF1qC

Finals baby!! 🔥🙌 🇹🇳@Maria_Tatjana, you were amazing. An inspiration for all women athletes out there! 👏 pic.twitter.com/c3WPk6cp80

Here’s our report of the second semi...

I guess that Jabeur can get closer to matching Rybakina’s power, but I also think she’s more likely to feel the pressure and that her game has more moving parts – she needs to feel comfortable to play well because she does so much unusual stuff, whereas Rybakina can just stand and deliver. we shall see!

On which point, it’s easy to look at the match-up and break it down – for mine, if Jabeur plays really well she’ll win, but if both play at 80% I think Rybakina’s power carries it – except that takes no account of which , if either, feel the nerves. We’ve not a clue how that’ll shake out because both have wavered, Jabeur in the semi and Rybakina in the quarter. But if you’re pressing me, which you’re not, I’m going with Rybakina.

If both finalists play on Saturday as they did today, Rybakina will win handily. But sport, never mind women’s tennis, is rarely like that, and Jabeur’s ability to take pace off the ball, conjuring creative angles and befuddling spins, means it’ll be harder for her opponent to plant feet and blaze away. It should be an absolute belter, and we’ll be getting ourselves yet another new grand slam champion.

Rybakina says Halep is a great champ and that she was really focused today, playing “really solid” – solid like a cruise missile is solid. She reckons she got used to the big-court atmosphere yesterday, so wasn’t as nervous today, and prompted to tell us how well she played, she modestly settles on “really really good”. She thinks it’ll be a great final against Jabeur and her drop shots, and is looking forward to having fun on the court. I’ll bet.

That was an absolute brute of a performance from Rybakina, who found her best level in her first semi – she absolutely burned Halep off the court there, in the way I thought she would Tomljanovic yesterday, and what a match she should have with Jabeur.

Rybakina 6-3 5-3 *Halep (*denotes server) Lovely work at the net from Rybakina, defending then extending a go go Gadget arm to put away a volley. I once spoke to an agent on behalf of a young player and the first question he asked me was how tall is he; Rybakina is 6”0, and it helps. Anyhow, we get to 40-30 ... and I’m so sorry to say this, but you can probably guess what happens after Halep serves a fault; yes, she nets. And, to compound matters, she swipes a forehand wide, then Rybakina thunks a return, and ELENA RYBAKINA IS IN THE WIMBLEDON FINAL AT 23-YEARS-OLD!

*Rybakina 6-3 5-3 Halep (*denotes server) New balls arrive and Rybakina wastes no time in ageing them, a booming forehand to the forehand corner sending Halep chasing, then when she sends it back and races back towards the centre, another of equivalent power is mashed into the same spot. This, I think, the best I’ve seen Rybakina play, but at 30-0 Halep attacks a second serve as has been done to her all afternoon – that’s more like it... so a gigantic high-kicking serve scuds down for 40-15. Halep does make 40-30, but another ace, also Rybakina’s fastest serve of the day, secures the hold and she is flying, a game away from the final.

Rybakina 6-3 4-3 *Halep (*denotes server) Nice from Halep, muscling forehands for 15-0, then Rybakina races to the net but can’t glide her backhand volley into court. This is good from Halep, not words I’ve typed so far today, and more weapons-grade forehands secure what feels like her first love hold of the match.

*Rybakina 6-3 4-2 Halep (*denotes server) Yeah, that might that. Rybakina slams an ace down the T, and if that last service game constituted her choke, Halep is in huge trouble. Another ace follows at 15-all, then a service winner out wide, then another ace curling away, and Rybakina is two games away! That was brilliantly done!

Rybakina 6-3 3-2 *Halep (*denotes server) That break wasn’t coming until it arrived, and didn’t come about because of anything Halep did. Perhaps Rybakina was thinking of the end, or perhaps she lost focus, but suddenly she’s not timing her forehand as well as before unable to build on another double, Halep’s seventh, that gives her 15-all. But a telling backhand cross-court makes 30-all, then a booming backhand facilitates the drop, and though Halep retrieves well, the simple put-away means she’s break-point down. And again, perhaps nervous of what’ll happen to her second serve, she sticks a weak one into the net, and that unlikely break-back is immediately one-upped.

*Rybakina 6-3 2-2 Halep (*denotes server) Hello! Out of nowhere, and with some sudden carelessness from her opponent, Halep makes 0-30, then a sliced backhand holds the ball up and Rybakina thrashes wide. Three break points Halep, he first of the match ... and Rybakina thrashes wide again. Halep is back in the set simply by virtue of getting her returns in!

Rybakina 6-3 2-1 *Halep (*denotes server) Nice from Halep, an inside-out backhand, hit from dead low, giving her 15-0, and a chase to the net for a drop, flicked back well, making 30. She holds to 15 and she needed that, though in co-comms, Caroline Wozniacki notes that her best hope is to stay in touch and hope nerves “crawl in” – what a lovely image that is – nearer the finishing line.

*Rybakina 6-3 2-0 Halep (*denotes server) Halep just doesn’t have anything for Rybakina, who need only keep the heid to win; it just doesn’t look like her opponent can manufacture a strategy to change the flow. Rybakina holds to 30, but again there’s no real suggestion that a break if in the offiing.

Rybakina 6-3 1-0 *Halep (*denotes server) Before Halep played yesterday, Calvin Betton, our resident coach, emailed in to say he fancied Anisimova because if she played well, the power differential would be too much. Well, she didn’t, but the match he thought we’d see yesterday we’re seeing today; if she’s watching, I daresay the American is wondering what might’ve been, though she probably is anyway given the fits she gave when she started hitting it properly at the end. Anyhow, two poor second serves help Rybakina make 30-all – she’s absolutely monstering Halep in that aspect – and there it is again, a colossal forehand to the backhand corner facilitating a clean-up volley pasted to the forehand for deuce. A double on her advantage follows – Halep’s fourth – and the second go is telling, the motion almost aborted before its end to enable her to set for the power-stroke she knows is coming by way of return. And, well, oh dear; we get back to deuce a second time, then Halep serves consecutive doubles – that’s three in the game – to tamely cede the break! Rybakina is absolutely cruising!

*Rybakina 6-3 Halep (*denotes server) Rybakina doesn’t seem nervous, opening the game with an ace, her first of the match, then cracks another Delpo forehand flat and cross-court, with dismissive ease. She did not play like this, or anything remotely similar to this, yesterday, and shonuff she hammers down an ace to raise three set points. Halep isn’t going away, though, upping the pace to cane a forehand winner then hitting onto the line for 40-30. But then a forehand drops long, and Rybakina takes the set, looking very strong in so doing. Halep needs to come up with something, and fast.

Rybakina 5-3 *Halep (*denotes server) Serving to stay in the set, Halep has her backhand tested but comes through for 15-0, then smites a backhand winner down the line – that’s probably her best shot so far. But the consistency isn’t there and she nets a forehand ... then another! The old Halep would be bang in her feelings at this point, but the double grand slam champion Halep has greater equanimity ... so of course as I type that, she serves a double, handing Rybakina set point ... then saves it via cunning drop. From there, she swiftly secures the hold, but has faced a break point in every service game so far, so needs to improve in that aspect – but in the meantime, needs a break to stay in the set.

*Rybakina 5-2 Halep (*denotes server) Halep hasn’t lost at Wimbledon since winning the title in 2019 – corona and injury intervened in the following years – but Rybakina’s power is too much for her here. At 15-all, we see one difference between the players - a powerful, high-kicking second serve – then another, a flat forehand winner hit with ludicrous prejudice – and though Halep gets to 30, it never really feels like she’s in the game. Rybakina is playing very nicely indeed.

Rybakina 4-2 *Halep (*denotes server) Rybakina is tucking into every second serve Halep hits, making 15-all then challenging the call of out when she rockets a brilliant winner cross-court and onto the sideline. 15-30, then Halep nets and she’s in all sorts ... but two booming forehands save the first break point. Then, on the second, Rybakina uncorks a Delpo-style flat forehand that looks likely to give her 5-1, but Halep hangs in the rally for deuce and speeds through advantage for her hold. But can she make an impression on her opponent’s serve?

*Rybakina 4-1 Halep (*denotes server) Halep is one of the best returners in the game, but so far she’s struggled to get a read on Rybakina’s serve, it also being one of the best there is Halep does get to 15-all, but a punishing backhand makes 30-15 ... before a drop that barely makes the net levels the game again. No matter: Rybakina wins the next two points in short order, the second with the aid of a net-cord, and is well worth her lead. This is going more or less as she’ll have planned.

Rybakina 3-1 *Halep (*denotes server) Better from Halep, chasing in to send a forehand cross-court winner hurtling towards the sideline for 15-0. A double follows, but a poor drop from Rybakina allows her the simple put-away – Halep is so quick and agile, that kind of shot needs to be near-perfect against her – and Rybakina’s next go at one is, because it came immediately after she’d she monstered a second serve into the corner prior to. 30-all, and more power-hitting from the Kazakh gives her a point for a double break. Halep, though, finds a big serve out wide to make deuce and quickly secures the game. She’s in the match, but Rybakina has started the better.

*Rybakina 3-0 Halep (*denotes server) Rybakina has settled the better here, putting good pace on her serve and hitting confidently and hard from the back. She holds easily again, to 15, and we’ve not seen much from Halep yet; if she doesn’t show us, and herself, soon, she’ll be a set down.

Rybakina 2-0 *Halep (*denotes server) A decent return earns Rybakina 0-15, a shanked forehand from Halep 0-30. But she rushes back into the game before Rybakina steps in, powering down an overhead for deuce, then a double donates break point and a barrage of sweet forehands send Halep scurrying to hither and yon before one cross-court is too good. First blood Rybakina!

*Rybakina 1-0 Halep (*denotes server) Excellent start from Rybakina, holding to love in front of a Centre Court with a criminal number of empty seats.

Eyes down, we are ready. Rybakina to serve.

Halep will, I guess, be trying to keep Rybakina on her bike. If she’s able to plant feet and unleash the power, she can dominate almost anyone, but on the run it’s a different matter.

And here come the players!

It’s a funny thing, really: Jannik Sinner lost his quarter-final but it felt like the announcement of a presence on the big stage; Rybakina won hers, and it felt like we needed to see more. If she brings her A-game today, we absolutely will.

However, Halep didn’t enjoy it when Anisimova turned up the power – she moves beautifully and has all the shots, but can’t impart the same venom on the ball. Other hand, she knows what it takes to win this thing which gives her a massive advantage over the others still in the draw and is in tremendous form, so it’s hard to look beyond her today.

Rybakina is another who’ll have to play much better than she did in her last match. It was only in set three that she really imposed her power and presence on Tomljanovic, and if that happens again, there probably won’t be a third set.

Next: Elena Rybakina v Simona Halep [16]

Ah, wasn’t that uplifting? Jabeur will need to play a lot better than that to win the final, whoever it’s against, but the way she navigated the third set was excellent and if she brings that version of herself on Saturday, Halep or Rybakina will have a job on.

Jabeur says reaching the final is a dream come true – she’s delighted all her hard work has paid off and she’ll keep going for one more match. On playing her friend, she doesn’t think that was so difficult, more the way she was forced by her to run so much, saying she’s owed a barbecue, and really wanted to share the moment at the end with her. Maria, she concludes, is an inspiration, to her and many others – but not just her. Ons is a proud Tunisian, she knows people will be going mad at home, and wants to see more Arab and African women playing the game – she’s loving sharing it with them.

But well expletive played, Tatjana Maria. Thirty-four years old, two kids – the younger of them but a year old – and a run we’ll all remember forever likewise the lovely way in which she embraced it.

*Jabeur 6-2 3-6 6-1 Maria (*denotes server) Jabeur has played much more confidently in the third set, which is a good sign – her best tennis has come when she’s been under most pressure – and she speeds to 40-0, but after a cleverly angled backhand takes Maria to the sideline, she can’t clean up with her forehand, sending it wide. But Maria then nets a forehand return, and what a moment! What an achievement! There are no histrionics, just a slow walk and an emotional-filled hug – friendship! – then Jabeur yanks her great mate into the middle of the court as she tries to leave, and they accept the ovation of the crowd together. Beautiful.

Jabeur 6-2 3-6 5-1 *Maria (*denotes server) Maria’s looked a little rushed these last few games, snatching at opportunities when she’s had time to think about things. But perhaps freed of the yoke of competition, she races to 40-0, and though Jabeur finds a fine forehand pass, she holds to 15, forcing her great mate to serve for the final.