Angelique Kerber secured her place in the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the first time since 2012 with an impressive 7-5 7-6 (7-2) victory over Simona Halep on Centre Court.

Kerber trailed in the pair's head-to-head record but had triumphed in their most recent encounter, a Fed Cup match on clay in April.

And the German number four seed, the favourite to make the final from the bottom half of the draw following the second-round exit of Garbine Muguruza, followed that up by overpowering Halep in an entertaining match on Tuesday.

Kerber's strength from the baseline proved key, while she also displayed finesse with a series of drop shots as she moved two matches away from a second grand slam of 2016. She will face five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams in the last four.

The Australian Open champion had only been broken three times in the competition heading into the contest but, although she started with a hold to love, that tally was doubled inside seven games.

When Halep netted from a lofted Kerber return, the latter was given the chance to serve for the opening set, yet she could not take advantage and the Romanian drew level courtesy of the eighth successive break of serve.

However, after racing to the net and returning a Kerber drop shot wide in the 12th game, Halep produced a double fault when facing set point as the inconsistency on serve continued.

The fifth seed upped her aggression, but was unable to capitalise on a break point at the start of the second set.

Kerber then had a fantastic opportunity to take a 3-1 lead, only to make a mess of a simple volley, before further breaks were exchanged.

Halep remained resilient after being broken again to trail 5-3, denying her opponent as she served for the match, but a series of misses in the subsequent tie-break brought an end to her campaign.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Kerber [4] bt Halep [5] 7-5 7-6 (7-2)

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Kerber - 23/21
Halep - 18/21

ACES
Kerber - 2
Halep - 1

BREAK POINTS WON
Kerber - 7/11
Halep - 6/8

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Kerber - 71
Halep - 69

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Kerber - 57/42
Halep - 50/36

TOTAL POINTS
Kerber - 74
Halep - 64