Swiatek, champ on clay, into 1st Wimbledon semi

Iga Swiatek, four of whose five Grand Slam titles have come on the red clay of the French Open, reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova that went from a stroll to a bit of a struggle in the late stages Wednesday.

The eighth-seeded Swiatek becomes the fourth active women's player to reach the semifinals at all four majors, joining Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova.

Swiatek won all 10 of her first serve points in the opening set and led 3-0 in the second against Samsonova, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Soon, though, it was 4-all in the second set, then 5-all. But Swiatek held for a 6-5 lead, then broke to end it, and a smile spread across her face.

"Even though I'm in the middle of the tournament, I already got goosebumps after this win," Swiatek said. "I'm super happy and super proud of myself."

The grass courts of the All England Club always had given her the most trouble as a pro, even though she did claim a junior championship there in 2018. In her five appearances in Wimbledon's women's bracket before this year, she had made it as far as the quarterfinals just once, exiting in that round in 2023.

But the 24-year-old from Poland is enjoying a career-best run on the slick surface, thanks in part to being more comfortable with the footing required. Before the start of Wimbledon, Swiatek was the runner-up in Bad Homburg, Germany, her first final at a tournament played on grass -- and her first final at any event in more than a year, a drought that resulted in her falling from the No. 1 ranking and being seeded No. 8 at the All England Club.

That included a semifinal loss against Sabalenka at Roland-Garros last month, putting an end to Swiatek's 26-match French Open winning streak.

Since the start of 2023, Swiatek has won 17 of her last 20 matches on grass, this after going 6-5 at the tour level in grass-court play before that.

"I, for sure, feel like I really worked hard to progress here on this surface," Swiatek said. "So this year, I feel like I can just work with it and work with myself. I'll just keep doing that."

Swiatek, who also won the US Open in 2022, is looking to become the eighth woman all time to win a major title on hard court, clay and grass -- something no active player has done.

Standing between her and the title match at the All England Club will be Belinda Bencic, also appearing in her first Wimbledon semifinal.

"I'll just recover today, try not to celebrate too much, but already focus on the next one," Swiatek said. "Prepare in the evening, and I'll be ready tomorrow."

Along with No. 1 Sabalenka -- a potential finals opponent -- Swiatek has reached the semifinal round at this year's Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. The last time multiple women made the semifinals in each of the first three majors was 2006 (Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters).

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.