Halep, Bouchard into semis

Halep beat Lisicki 6-4, 6-0 in 57 minutes Wednesday on Centre Court. The third-seeded Romanian, runner-up at the French Open, went down 4-1 in the first set but won 11 games in a row to defeat last year's womens finalist Lisicki.

Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov clinched a sensational 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory over the Briton in the men's quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia's Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the men's final.

In the women's semi, Lisicki was hoping to bounce back from her tearful defeat to now-retired Marion Bartoli in the 2013 final.

But after a strong start, the 22-year-old Halep (pictured) bounced back with big serves and dangerous passing shots.

"She had 4-1 and then I came very well back," said Halep. "I played my best today and I was enjoying every moment because it was incredible on Centre Court."

Kerber out

The 13th-seeded Bouchard, meanwhile, took down number nine Kerber 6-3, 6-4.

"I'm just excited to be in the semis again and I want to go one step further for sure," said Bouchard, who has reached her third-consecutive semifinals at a Grand Slam.

"It was a tough battle," the 20-year-old said of her duel with Kerber. "I have played her a few times now and it has always been really tough."

"I knew it wasn't over but I stuck in and managed to pull it off. I couldn't think ahead and had to stay in the moment and just tried to play my game," Bouchard added.

In advancing, Halep and Bouchard both made history for their respective countries.

Halep has become the first Romanian to reach the semis at the All England Club since the Open era began in 1968, while Bouchard is Canada's first Wimbledon semifinalist.

dr/ipj (AP, Reuters, AFP)