After the storm, the calm. Novak Djokovic advanced effortlessly to his sixth consecutive Wimbledon semi-final with a straightforward victory over the US Open champion Marin Cilic. Following the exertions of his fourth-round, five-set victory over Kevin Anderson with its attendant tantrums and tribulations, this was as effortless a quarter-final victory as the reigning champion could have wished for as he prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The Serbian, coming to Wimbledon off the back of his French Open disappointment, called it “a very solid performance”. And so it was in a match in which he refused to offer his cowed opponent even the slightest chance of an upset.