Safina toils into first semi-final

LONDON (Reuters) - Top seed Dinara Safina came from a set down to reach her first Wimbledon semi-final with an unconvincing 6-7 6-4 6-1 victory over Germany''s unseeded Sabine Lisicki on Tuesday.

Safina, whose tortured expressions suggest she is as much battling her own game as her opponent''s, remained on course for a first career grand slam title despite a flurry of double faults at crucial moments on Center Court.

The two shared a break of serve each in the opening set which Lisicki clinched 7-5 in a tiebreak when the Russian ballooned a second serve long for her seventh double fault of the set.

She restored order in the second with a single break enough to help her level the match and Safina raced through the third when a Lisicki mishit dropped wide.

She will play third seed and defending champion Venus Williams for a place in Saturday''s final.

(Editing by Miles Evans)