Tennis player Coco Vandeweghe has continued her winning rampage at the Australian Open, upsetting yet another seed to make her first ever Grand Slam semi-final.
American tennis player Coco Vandeweghe after winning her quarter-final against Garbine Muguruza. Photo: AFP
Vandeweghe, who knocked out the world number one Angelique Kerber in the fourth round, beat the Spanish seventh seed Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 in a powerful quarter-final display.
The 25-year-old American controlled the match from the seventh game of the first set when she achieved her first break of serve.
Having taken 56 minutes to wrap up the first set, Vandeweghe raced through the second as she blasted winners from both sides of the court and did not give Muguruza a break opportunity until she was serving for the match.
Vandeweghe, whose previous best grand slam tournament was making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2015, will now meet compatriot Venus Williams in Thursday's semi-final.
The 13th seed Williams earlier eased past the 24th-ranked Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 7-6 to make her first Australian Open semi-final in 14 years.
Venus Williams during the 2017 Australian Open Photo: Photosport
The quarter-final will hardly be remembered as a classic, with both Williams and Pavlyuchenkova surrendering serve with alarming regularity, despite perfect conditions for tennis at Rod Laver Arena.
But in the end it was the 36-year-olds experience that proved decisive when the pressure rose, and Pavlyuchenkova crumbled with a double-fault on match point to boost the American's hopes of a maiden title at Melbourne Park.
"Oh my gosh I'm so excited," said Williams after closing out the one hour and 48-minute match. "I want to go further. I'm not happy just with this.
"I'm just so excited that I have another opportunity to play again."
A semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, Williams last reached the last four in Melbourne in 2003 when she made a run to the final and was beaten by younger sister Serena in three sets.
- Reuters, RNZ
