Daniil Medvedev has moved within one match of a first Wimbledon final after knocking out the favourite, top seed Jannik Sinner.
But it will be a difficult match as the man standing in his way is Carlos Alcaraz, the holder, who defeated Medvedev in the semi-final last year.
Alcaraz won that encounter 6-3 6-3 6-3 and he said, after defeating Tommy Paul in his quarter-final, "the same semi as last year, hopefully I will get the same result. But he is a really great player and has just beaten the best player right now."
Sinner is indeed the world No.1 but was not fully fit. He felt unwell in the morning and during the game, at one stage having to leave court on medical advice.
"I was struggling physically," he said. "I didn't vomit but took some time because I was dizzy quite a lot.
"I was still in shape to play somehow. The energy level was not consistent. It was up and down but I was never thinking about retiring.
"Take nothing away from Daniil. I think he played very smart. He played good tennis."
Given his illness Sinner was impressive but Medvedev sparkled. The Muscovite won 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3 to end a run of five successive defeats against the Italian, including this year's Australian Open final.
“It’s always tricky, because you want to play more points to make him suffer a little bit more - in a good way - and at the same time, you know that at one point he is going to say, ‘OK, I can not run anymore so I’m going to go full power,’” the fifth-seeded Medvedev said of Sinner's discomfort. “And that’s what he did.”
Alcaraz came from a set down to beat Paul 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-2 on No.1 Court on Tuesday soon after Medvedev triumphed on Centre.
"If I am struggling a little bit to find solution, if the opponent is playing great tennis, I believe at the end I'll be able to come back and find solutions," Alcaraz said.
"Here, in the grand slams, the matches are longer so I have more time to recover and come back. I believe myself all the time.""
The semi-final will be Medvedev's ninth in grand slams. Only once, in the 2021 US Open, has he gone on to win the final.
However, as talented a player and charming an individual as he is, Medvedev's progress threatens embarrassment for the organisers.
The Muscovite was banned from Wimbledon in 2022 along with all other Russian and Belarusian players in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the British government's strong support for the stand.
Under fines and the threat of further sanctions Wimbledon relented in 2023 and faced the prospect of Medvedev being presented with the trophy by the Princess of Wales before he was beaten by Alcaraz.
Twelve months on Medvedev is back in the last four, and while he is theoretically playing without national branding, a win would sure to be used as a propaganda coup by the Kremlin.
However, it would probably not be the Princess of Wales presenting the trophy following her recent medical treatment.
