Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber showed her grass-court pedigree again as she battled through to the Mallorca Open semi-finals.

Kerber grafted out a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory over Caroline Garcia to set up a last-four clash with Belinda Bencic.

Bencic earned a 6-2 6-2 win against 17-year-old American Amanda Anisimova, whose recent run to the French Open caught the eye.

Kerber, who suffered a shock first-round exit last month at Roland Garros, said Garcia had given her "a really tough match".

But with Wimbledon less than a fortnight away, that should stand 31-year-old Kerber in good stead.

She added: "It's great to have a lot of good matches against the best players, that's why we are here."

.@AngeliqueKerber books her spot in the #MallorcaOpen semifinals!

Defeats Caroline Garcia 6-3, 7-6(5). pic.twitter.com/fXxKOtGHjH

— WTA (@WTA) June 21, 2019

Bencic has shot up from 37th to seventh in the world rankings since the turn of the year and Kerber said in an on-court interview: "I think it will be another good match against Belinda.

"We know each other really well. She's playing unbelievable tennis this year so it will be a really good match on a really high level."

Anastasija Sevastova will face Sofia Kenin in the other semi-final. Sevastova beat China's Yafan Wang 6-2 6-1 in the quarter-finals and Kenin fought back to see off Elise Mertens 1-6 6-1 6-3.

Away from the Mallorca Open, Friday saw 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard suffer the frustration of failing to qualify for next week's WTA tournament in Eastbourne.

Bouchard was thrashed 6-2 6-0 by France's world number 95 Fiona Ferro in their preliminary match.