Venus rolls back the years

Venus Williams became the oldest Wimbledon semifinalist in 23 years after beating Jelena Ostapenko in the women's singles quarterfinals yesterday. Photo: AFP

Venus Williams became the oldest Wimbledon semifinalist for 23 years as the five-time champion brushed aside French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, while Garbine Muguruza powered past Svetlana Kuznetsova to make it back to the last four on Tuesday.

Earlier, three-time champion Novak Djokovic overcame an injury scare to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the ninth time and then lashed out at the Centre Court, claiming a hole has opened up on the famous surface.

The second seed needed treatment on his long-standing right shoulder injury during his 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over France's Adrian Mannarino.

Djokovic will face the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych on Wednesday for a semifinal spot, boasting a 25-2 career record over the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up.

Williams' 73-minute masterclass on Centre Court clinched a 6-3, 7-5 victory that made her the most senior player to reach the semifinals since Martina Navratilova in 1994.

The American star, who reached the last of her eight Wimbledon finals in 2009, faces Britain's Johanna Konta or Romania's Simona Halep in the last four on Thursday.

Williams' victory equalled her sister Serena's total of 86 main draw match victories at Wimbledon, the most among any active player.

She will climb back into the top 10 thanks to her Wimbledon run, but breaking Serena's record to become the tournament's oldest champion in the Open era is her sole focus.

Muguruza powered into her second Wimbledon semifinal in the last three years with an emphatic 6-3, 6-4 win over Russian seventh seed Kuznetsova.

Since winning her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open last year, Muguruza has struggled to return to the top and this is her first major semi-final since that Roland Garros triumph.

Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for 39 years as the world number seven fought back to beat Simona Halep 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.