Serena Williams has continued the defence of her Wimbledon crown by reaching the semi-finals with a straight-sets victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova this afternoon.

The world number one came through 6-4 6-4 to stay on course for a 22nd Grand Slam title - a tally that would equal Steffi Graf's Open Era record.

Neither player gave much away on their own serve throughout a tight opening set until the penultimate game, when Williams broke to love to move 5-4 ahead.

Another love game then followed as the six-time Wimbledon champion served out the set and took command of the match.

Pavlyuchenkova continued to hold her own in the second set, though, and once again there was nothing to separate the two players until the penultimate game.

In a mirror image to the opener, though, Williams broke to make it 5-4 before wrapping things up with her second match point.

The 34-year-old, who joins sister Venus Williams in the semi-finals, will take on either Dominika Cibulkova or Elena Vesnina in the last four.