Mumbai, July 10 -- Iga Swiatek loves repeating a line when she is feeling good about her level of tennis. She said it at this year's Australian Open, and this Wimbledon. "The ball is listening to me." For a long time at Wimbledon, it did not. It was odd that a five-time Grand Slam champion who found success on clay and hard courts had made the quarter-final of the grass-court major only once. It was also odd that a player who made the semi-final of both Slams this season would speak about getting "goosebumps" after another quarter-final victory. This, however, was a victory that broke new ground for a former world No.1 who spent 125 weeks at the top. And so, when she cracked a forehand return winner to beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday, Swiatek raised her arms and let out a loud "C'mon". The roar was proof that the ball was finally listening to her even on grass. It was proof that she had overcome a barrier and landed a semi-final spot at Wimbledon. "For sure," the Pole, a junior Wimbledon winner who has since struggled at SW19, said when asked if she felt more love on grass now. "I feel like I worked hard to progress here on this surface." The signs were there coming into this Wimbledon. After exiting in the French Open semi-final in early June, Swiatek did not jump to playing on grass soon, like most players do in the grass-court tour events mid-June. The world No.4 picked the Bad Homburg Open for it, the last tune-up tournament in the week leading into Wimbledon when most top 10 players assemble in London to train. Swiatek reached the final in Germany. The work done on improving her grass-court game was starting to show. Whether it would at Wimbledon, though, was the big question. Whether the ball would listen to her there. It would, because she was making it talk. As much with the hands as with the feet. The key to getting more comfortable on the faster grass courts lies in the footwork. In the case of Swiatek, a baseliner who thrives on slower surfaces, the answer to tackling the faster court challenge lay in having quicker hands. To dictate rallies on grass like she does on clay, she had to take the ball early, and accelerate through it. To make the ball "listen" to her beat. "What I think she means, we've been working on it since the start of the grass season, is very actively looking for the control of the ball," her coach Wim Fissette was quoted as saying on Wimbledon's website. "It's not about slowing down the ball on grass. It's about taking the initiative, to have fast hands and a fast racquet head with more spin," Fissette said. Her win against Danielle Collins in the third round gave good examples of that. So did her returns of serve in her last-eight test against Samsonova, among the few active players with multiple titles on grass. Taking the ball early and keeping her body low in the early exchanges, Swiatek found the break in the sixth game after an attacking return to the second serve. The second set got closer for Swiatek from a 3-0 lead after the Russian cranked up her forehand. Amid a flurry of breaks, Swiatek withstood the pressure, and then found openings from her own forehand. The final point of the match reflected Swiatek's newfound grass code - she sprang one step ahead to Samsonova's serve, took the return early and whizzed a forehand past the net. The ball listened to her, and did not come back. Swiatek will take on a fellow first-time semifinalist at Wimbledon on Thursday. Belinda Bencic, who skipped every Slam last year as she gave birth to her daughter Bella, entered her first Slam semi-final since 2019 after beating Russian teen Mirra Andreeva 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Swiss, who began the year ranked 421 and is now set for a top-20 entry, continues her incredible comeback after becoming a mother. World No.1 Jannik Sinner allayed concerns over his right elbow, which he injured in the previous round against Grigor Dimitrov, by not only turning up for his quarter-final but also brushing aside American Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4....