Daniil Medvedev curtailed American Christopher Eubanks' extraordinary Wimbledon adventure as he weathered a storm to win their quarterfinal 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Wednesday.
Medvedev will next face No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who eliminated Holger Rune 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4, for a spot in the final. Alcaraz, 20, became the youngest Wimbledon semifinalist since 2007 with Wednesday's win.
"I am just happy to be in the semifinals," Medvedev said on court after winning a fifth-set decider for only the fourth time in his career, having lost 10. "There was a moment in the match where I completely lost the game itself and he played well. I started to sink, I started to do a lot of mistakes, not serving well enough.
"In the third set, I started to build something, not lose it 6-1 again, and starting from the tiebreak [in the fourth], I managed to play amazing."
The third-seeded Medvedev took the opening set but lost the next two as the unseeded Eubanks unleashed a barrage of first-strike tennis that stunned the Russian player and had the Court 1 crowd roaring its approval.
Medvedev looked bewildered and out of ideas at one point as Eubanks kept landing blow after blow. Eubanks used his sledgehammer forehand to break the Medvedev serve to lead 3-1 in the second set, beaming broadly and imploring the crowd for more noise.
They duly obliged as Eubanks began smacking service returns straight to the feet of Medvedev and demonstrating a razor-sharp net game that many thought had long gone out of fashion.
But the 2021 US Open champion began to regroup in a tight fourth set, and his experience held sway in the tiebreak as he leveled the match. Medvedev then improved to 2-4 in five-set matches at Wimbledon with a strong closing effort.
Eubanks, 27, bidding to emulate American great John McEnroe by reaching the semifinals in his first Wimbledon appearance, appeared dejected in the deciding set as his dream faded away.
Despite the end of his incredible run, Eubanks left the court to a huge ovation, making a heart gesture to the stands as he exited.
The other men's singles match of the day was billed as the battle of the 20-year-olds, but Alcaraz pulled rank on his childhood buddy Rune. Alcaraz never allowed Rune to gain the upper hand, no matter how many flashy shots he conjured.
After saving a break point in the opening game of the match, Alcaraz put on a majestic performance. Rune certainly won most of the crowd-pleasing points, whether it was a tweener between the legs or a stupendous reflex volley at the net after Alcaraz had dashed back to the baseline to retrieve a lob.
But the Spanish player refused to get flustered and kept winning the points that mattered.
"I am playing at a great level. I didn't expect to play such a great level on this surface. For me, it is crazy," said Alcaraz, who has been more at home on clay and hard courts.
Alcaraz missed out on converting his first three match points, including a double fault on one of them, but he sealed his showdown with Medvedev when Rune slapped a service return long.
After sharing a warm embrace at the net with Rune, Alcaraz leaned back and let out a mighty roar into the skies, showing just how much this win meant to him.
Born six days apart, Alcaraz and Rune were contesting the first men's Wimbledon quarterfinal in the Open era where both players were under 21.
"At the beginning I was really nervous playing in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, but even more against Rune," Alcaraz said. "Someone the same age as me playing a great level. It was tough to play against him, but once you get into the quarterfinals, there are no friends.
"You have to be focused on yourself, and I think I did great in that part."
Reuters contributed to this report.