Djokovic sets up Sinner showdown, Swiatek reaches first Wimbledon semi-final

Novak Djokovic's pursuit of yet more career milestones continued unabated as he reached a record 14th Wimbledon semi-final and a showdown with world number one Jannik Sinner on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old Serb recovered from a set down to beat Flavio Cobolli 6-7(6) 6-2 7-5 6-4 and is now only two victories away from an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title. Blocking his path next is a rather more formidable Italian in the form of Sinner who eased any worries about an elbow injury to beat American powerhouse Ben Shelton 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4.

In the women's quarter-finals, Poland's claycourt specialist Iga Swiatek broke new ground by reaching her first Wimbledon semi-final, beating Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5.

The eighth seed will face Switzerland's unseeded Belinda Bencic who edged out Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3) 7-6(2) to also reach her first semi-final at the grasscourt slam.

By reaching a record-extending 52nd Grand Slam semi, Djokovic also kept alive his hopes of equalling Roger Federer's men's record eight Wimbledon singles titles.

It remains a tall order even for a player widely regarded as the greatest of all time, especially with top seed Sinner and Spain's holder Carlos Alcaraz, the two new powers in men's tennis, most people's bet to contest the final on July 13.

But no one should be writing off Djokovic who has won 44 of his last 46 matches at the All England Club and seems to know every single blade of grass on the historic Centre Court.

"It means the world to me that at 38 I am able to play in the final stages of Wimbledon," Djokovic, who suffered a nasty slip on match point but appeared unscathed, said.

"Competing with youngsters makes me feel young, like Cobolli today. I enjoy running and sliding around the court. Speaking of the young guys, I will have Sinner in the next round so I look forward to that. That is going to be a great match-up."