Ons Jabeur believes her new-found patience helped propel her into another Wimbledon final.
The Tunisian sixth seed, last year's runner-up, came from a set down to beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-3 on Centre Court.
Sabalenka, banned from Wimbledon last year over the role of Belarus in the war in Ukraine, was a point from going a set and 5-3 up.
But Jabeur’s rousing comeback spared Wimbledon chiefs an uncomfortable situation.
Instead of a politically-charged clash between Sabalenka and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, Centre Court will host Jabeur against Czech Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday.
Jabeur was devastated after losing to Elena Rybakina in last year’s final, but believes she is a different player 12 months on.
"Maybe the old me would have lost that match today," she said. "Probably 12 months ago, for sure. Maybe also a little bit before, like six months ago. It’s a different player.
"I’m working on myself like crazy. You have no idea what I’m doing. Every time there is something, I’m very tough with myself, try to improve everything. Very impatient sometimes, which is not good.
"Maybe my injuries slowed me down and teach me to be patient and accept what’s going on."
A set and a break down, Jabeur came out fighting on the Sabalenka serve and it finally paid off.
"I was like, honestly, I’m not going to give a s***, I’m just going to go in and hit my return," she added.
"Yeah, it was coming. I was returning much better. She missed some shots that did help me stay in the game. I was fighting every point. We just wait for a little bit of chance sometime to get the game, and that’s what happened."
Sabalenka has reached four consecutive semi-finals but only won one of them, when she took the Australian Open title earlier this year.
"I didn’t play my best tennis today. It was just, like, a combo of everything. A little bit of nerves, a little bit of luck for her at some points," she said.
"I mean, she just played really well. She played unbelievable tennis. In those key moments, she got a little bit more lucky, and I didn’t play the way I was supposed to play."
Victory would have elevated Sabalenka above Iga Swiatek to become world number one.
"I wouldn’t say that I was thinking about that. I mean, for me it’s more about how you finish the year than during the year you’re first, second, you just go back and forth," she added.
"For me it’s more about the finish to the year. I’ll keep pushing myself and do everything I can to finish this year as world number one."
Svitolina became tearful as she reflected on the end of her hopes of winning the Wimbledon title for Ukraine.
Svitolina's efforts amid war in her homeland and only nine months after giving birth to daughter Skai have been one of the stories of the tournament.
But her hopes of reaching a first grand slam final were ended in emphatic fashion by 24-year-old Czech Marketa Vondrousova, whose 6-3 6-3 victory makes her the first unseeded women’s finalist at Wimbledon since 1963.
Far more at home on clay than grass, this is Vondrousova’s first big grand slam run since she lost to Ashleigh Barty in the French Open final as a teenager in 2019.
Svitolina was desperately disappointed with her performance and struggled to keep her composure as she spoke about the support she had received from back home.
"I got a lot of messages from different people," she said. "It’s unbelievable that they’ve been there with me all the way. Hopefully they continue.
"For sure I hope I can build on this. But right now I’m just really disappointed with the performance that I showed today. That’s what I have right now in my mind.
"Probably I will need a couple of days to really reflect on everything that happened because I was trying to be really focused, even after the win against Iga (Swiatek)."
The freedom with which Svitolina had progressed through her first five rounds was missing, while Vondrousova is also a player who offers a frustrating lack of rhythm.
The Czech mixes big hits from the baseline with drop shots, lobs and short angles and she wrapped up the first set in less than half an hour, breaking Svitolina’s serve three times in a row.
The fans tried to will Svitolina, who lost both her previous slam semi-finals here and at the US Open in 2019, back into the match in the second set but Vondrousova was firmly in her groove and she moved to the brink of victory at 4-0.
The Czech can be a nervous closer and there were definite signs of tension as Svitolina broke twice in succession to claw her way back to 4-3 only to play another poor game, and she looked emotional as she walked off court to a standing ovation.
A year ago, Vondrousova came to Wimbledon to watch best friend Miriam Kolodziejova in qualifying with her wrist in a cast after surgery and she did not play a match between April and October.
That she has reached another slam final on grass is of particular surprise to Vondrousova, who said: "Here on grass, it was almost impossible. I didn’t play many matches on grass before. My best one was second round (at Wimbledon). It’s even crazier that this is happening.
"After everything I’ve been through, two surgeries, it’s not always easy to come back. You don’t know if you can play at this level and if you can be back at the top and back at these tournaments. I just feel like I’m just grateful to be on a court again, to play without pain."
Vondrousova will have two extra supporters for the final against Ons Jabeur, meanwhile, with her husband Stepan Simek abandoning cat-sitting duties to fly to London.
"He’s coming tomorrow with my sister," she said. "We texted the cat sitter to come to our home."
