Wimbledon star hits Clare Balding with tennis ball during BBC live coverage

The players were out doing their final warm-ups on serve before the match began.

And Balding found herself in the firing line for one of Medvedev’s wicked serves.

The presenter had just finished her pre-match preview piece to camera when she was hit in the head by Medvedev’s serve.

The Russian averages close to 120mph serves when firing at full power.

But Balding came out unscathed from the incident and she was able to laugh it off.

Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz were competing in a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon semi-final when the latter came out on top before winning his maiden title on British soil.

The Spaniard dominated their contest 12 months ago, but Medvedev is in a better place than he was that time around.

The No 5 seed knocked out world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the previous round in a five-set thriller.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz has taken some time to find his form in this year’s championships.

Frances Tiafoe threatened to knock out the defending champion in the third round with Alcaraz stepping up when it mattered most to win in the fifth set.

That seemingly kicked the 21-year-old into gear as he looked much more improved against Ugo Humbert and Tommy Paul.

It set up a tantalising first semi-final of the day on Centre Court with Alcaraz winning the previous two matches against Medvedev.

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Their last meeting came in the final of Indian Wells where the world No 3 won in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti compete in the other men's semi-final with the possibility of a repeat of last year's final.

Djokovic had his record unbeaten Wimbledon run ended by Alcaraz 12 months ago.