Serena Williams powered her way past defending champion Petra Kvitova and now is a huge favorite to win her fifth Wimbledon title, after the likes of Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters crashed out in the last round.
Serena defeated world number 4 Kvitova 6-3, 7-5 to move into the semi-finals where she will meet Victoria Azarenka.
"It just feels like a good win," Serena told reporters in the post-match press conference. "She was playing very well. I was not too concerned about dethroning her just because she was the Wimbledon champion, I just wanted to go out there and do the best that I could.
"I obviously wanted to win today, as I am sure she did. So I'm glad I came out on top.
Serena said talks with her father Richard Williams, sister Venus and coach Patrick Mouratoglou helped her relax and just come out and give her best. It definitely worked against Kvitova.
"It's impossible when you are playing a Wimbledon champion or a Grand Slam champion and not elevate your game. I had to weed out the riff raff and just get serious.
"I had a good talk with my dad and he motivated me and (had a talk with) my sister as well. I spoke with Patrick too. It was all three combined. It was great, it got me really motivated to just try to do better and be the player that I know I can be."
"I just took to heart what everyone said. I really prayed about it. To have calmness of mind and to just go forward and do the best that I can do; whether it's winning or losing.
"Sometime I put too much pressure on myself and I'm amped up too much. Sometime I just need to relax and smile and just like take a deep breath. I think me in particular, and a lot of people in general tend to forget that.
On whether she considered herself as the favorite to win Wimbledon, Serena said: "I don't think about it. I just think that I need to do the best I can. I still have two matches to play and win."
Kvitova admitted she ran into an unstoppable force in Serena in the quarterfinals.
"I think that it was a great match from both of us and she just took her chances much better than me.
"I don't think me being the defending champion mattered. I think it was just a match and she played better on the day.
"It's really difficult to beat her when she is in this form. She really knows how to play important points."
Asked if Serena would win her fifth Wimbledon, Kvitova said with a smile: "I think so."
