Germany’s Julia Goerges advanced to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 win against Dutch 20th seed Kiki Bertens on Tuesday.

Goerges, seeded 13th, faces seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams on Thursday for a place in Saturday’s final.

Goerges had suffered five successive opening round defeats at the All England Club before this year.

It also took her until her 42nd Grand Slam appearance to finally get through to the last four at a major.

But the 29-year-old has erased those painful memories with a superb run, capped by a come from behind success against Bertens in her first Grand Slam quarter-final.

With Angelique Kerber also in the last four, it is the first time two German woman have made the semi-finals of a Grand Slam since Steffi Graf and Anke Huber at the 1993 French Open.

Bertens was unable to follow her shock wins against five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and Czech seventh seed Karolina Pliskova earlier in the tournament.

The 26-year-old, who was contemplating retirement last year after losing her enthusiasm for the sport, was the first Dutch woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals since Michaella Krajicek in 2007.

But she failed in her bid to become the first Dutchwoman to make the Wimbledon last four since Betty Stove in 1977.