Top twins close in on sixth crown

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan stayed on course for a sixth Grand Slam title as they cruised into the semi-finals of the men's doubles with a 7-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Marcel Granollers and Santiago Ventura.

The No1 seeds were playing opponents who, until this year, had never got past the second round of a Grand Slam.

Although the Spanish pair held their own for the first set they then crumbled in the face of some power play from the Americans.

The Bryans won the title in 2006 but were beaten in last year's final by Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra. They face Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden and Zimbabwe's Kevin Ullyet, who needed 3hrs and 40mins to win their quarter-final.

The No8 seeds finally overcame the stubborn resistance of Austria's Alexander Peya and German Philipp Petzchner 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2.

Bjorkman, who will retire in October, needed treatment on a sore neck in the fifth set but soldiered on to keep alive his hopes of a fourth doubles title at Wimbledon.

In the other semi-final, No2 seeds Canada's Daniel Nestor and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic play Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and India's Leander Paes, who are ranked No9.