Briton Johanna Konta’s hopes of a first Wimbledon final ended with a straight-set semi-final defeat by five-time champion Venus Williams.
The 37-year-old American 10th seed played superbly to win 6-4 6-2 on Centre Court and set up a final against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.
Sixth seed Konta, 26, had hoped to become the first British woman in a Wimbledon singles final since 1977.
“I’ve played a lot of finals here. One more win will be amazing. It won’t be a given but I’ll give it my all.The crowd were very nice to me. The crowd were so fair, I know they love Jo.
“I think Jo handled the pressure. No point was easy. I tried to climb on top and get another point.”
“Both Garbine and I play so well on grass. I’ll have to ask Serena (Serena Williams defeated Muguruza in the 2015 final) for advice.
“I missed Serena terribly before the match. I wish she was here.”
The Spaniard finished runner-up to Serena Williams in 2015, before beating the American to win the French Open in 2016.She will break into the top five for the first time in the next rankings.
Williams is the oldest Grand Slam singles finalist since Martina Navratilova finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 1994.
The American won her first Wimbledon title in 2000 and the most recent of her seven major victories came on Centre Court in 2008.
She will next face Muguruza, the 14th seed, who thrashed unseeded Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1 6-1 in just 64 minutes to advance to her second Wimbledon final.
Muguruza strode on to Centre Court with heavy strapping on her left thigh, but appeared anything but restricted as she reeled off the first five games in 25 minutes.
Rybarikova, ranked 87th, went into the match with an 18-1 record on grass this season but the 28-year-old appeared nervous in her first Grand Slam semi-final.
A sympathetic round of applause greeted her first game at 5-1 down.