Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina was denied a place in the final following a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Barbora Krejcikova.
The 2022 title winner had been the favourite to lift the title following the demise of a number of leading players in the women’s draw.
And she looked to be cruising to victory as she raced into a 4-0 lead early in the second semi-final on Centre Court.
But undeterred Krejcikova, a former grand slam winner herself, clawed her way back into the tie to set up a final against Jasmine Paolini, who earlier won a thriller over Donna Vekic.
While this was not nearly so dramatic and didn’t quite nudge towards the three-hour mark like match one, it was well over two hours and saw the advantage ebb and flow once more.
Krejcikova suggested she might be capable of a fightback when she broke Rybakina’s serve just once in the opening set by which point that set already looked a lost cause, and so it proved.
But it reinvigorated her for the second set where she piled the pressure on her Kazakh opponent, whose previously near-perfect serve and groundstrokes began to buckle.
The Czech deservedly took the second set to force a decider and a late break in that final set was enough to seal the win.
No stranger to Wimbledon titles - she is a former doubles champion at the All England Club - she had never previously made it past the fourth round in the singles here.
“It is very tough to explain, but a lot of joy and a lot of emotions,” she said after the win. “Also, there is a lot of relief and I am super proud. I am so proud about my game and my fighting spirit today.
"I was trying to fight for every single ball, during the second set I was getting my momentum and when I broke her I started to be in the zone and I didn't want to leave the zone."
