Zheng Jie became the first Chinese to reach a grand slam semi-final when she beat Nicole Vaidisova 6-2 5-7 6-1 on Tuesday at Wimbledon, setting up a clash with former champion Serena Williams.

Zheng, a former world number 27 who came into the tournament ranked 133 after injuries and upset top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round, is also the first women’s wildcard to reach the last four at Wimbledon.

"For now I want to keep my hopes simple," said Zheng of her meeting with Williams, who was defending champion when she beat the Chinese in the first round in 2004. "She’s a two times winner here, I’m only in my first semi-final.

"Of course, I hope to do better playing her (this time) and of course I want to win."

Zheng’s previous best grand slam was the fourth round at the French Open in 2004 before an ankle injury put her out for most of 2007.

The feisty Zheng, whose two-handed backhand hit low over the net is a formidable weapon, was too much to handle for teenager Vaidisova, who had beaten her in their two previous meetings.

The Chinese, who turns 25 on women’s final day on Saturday, set up two break points in the second game of the first set and the 19-year-old Czech double faulted on the second.

The same happened in the eighth game when Vaidisova, who had failed to convert any of her six break points, again served a double fault to relinquish the set.

Zheng dropped a set for the first time in the tournament when Vaidisova broke her for the second time in the 11th game of the second set and went on to level the match.

Vaidisova, whose best showings at a grand slam are the semi-finals at the 2007 Australian Open and 2006 French Open, gained consistency at that stage particularly with her strong forehand.

"I have to give her credit, she played great," Vaidisova said. "I tried to keep the ball in play more (in the second set) to give her less opportunities to put it away."

Zheng proved the more resilient, though, racing away with the third set, although she needed a third match point to settle it when the Czech sent a return into the net.