This did not feel like an ideal day for Jannik Sinner to put on a masterclass and so it proved.
In stifling hot conditions, and against a big-serving opponent in Jan-Lennard Struff determined to deny him rhythm, Sinner did not have a particularly appealing stage from which to perform.
The opportunity on offer, though, was clear. Two full days off before a semi-final showdown on Friday against Novak Djokovic or Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Defending champion Sinner did enough to ensure those prizes were his but not much more than that. A 7-5 7-6 6-3 victory was a reward for dominating the swing moments throughout, even if a more ruthless opponent might have caused him problems.
Struff served to guarantee himself a tie-break in the first set and was broken. He saw a set point come and go on his way to losing the second. In the third, Sinner broke to then serve for the match.
The world number one went through the gears when it mattered most and kept Struff at arm's length. He is in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the third time in four years.
Sinner faded alarmingly in the heat at the French Open earlier in the summer, but was relieved to see the effort put in since then has paid off.
“We worked a lot after Paris trying to understand what went wrong and prepared in the best possible way,” Sinner said.
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“It was a huge test today, I felt comfortable on the physical side, a good step forwards. If it happens again like Paris, I hope not, we know that we need to change a couple of things again."
Struff dropped two points in his opening service game but followed it with three consecutive holds to love.
His gameplan was not disguised, rushing to the net and unsettling Sinner. Struff enjoyed success from the back of the court too, particularly with Sinner's forehand proving unreliable.
Of the ten unforced errors the Italian made in the first set, seven came off that wing.
The set progressed serenely for Struff until it didn't. At 5-5 he gave up his first break points and Sinner had three of them. Two aces almost retrieved the situation but Sinner then nailed a second-serve return.
That break came at a perfect time, Sinner holding to 15 to consolidate it and take the opening set.
It briefly looked as though Sinner might then skip off into the distance, bringing up a break point in the first game of the second set.
He was dominating the point, too, only for Struff to come to a halt after a ball fell from his pocket. Sinner's thoughts on having to replay the point were unlikely to have grown more positive when Struff then hammered down an unreturned first serve.
Sinner did get his break to lead 2-1, neutralising the serve and volley threat with two brilliant passes, but the Italian then handed the initiative back.
A double fault was followed by another loose forehand as Struff broke back. Sinner threw the ball up and shaped to smack it away, thinking better of it and pulling out at the last second.
Holds were then exchanged until Struff's big moment came. Leading 5-4, he brought up set point on Sinner's serve. An ace and two unreturned serves later and the top seed had levelled it up.
Sinner increasingly found his flow on serve and was relentless in the tie-break. Struff did not have a sniff. A return sailed long and Sinner took it 7-4.
To his credit, Struff did not fade away in a hurry. He staved off a break point to hold for 2-2 in the third set and kept himself in the hunt.
Once again, though, Sinner struck when it mattered most. He broke to lead 5-3 and Struff's race was finally run just a couple of minutes later.
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