Naomi Osaka cruised into a second grand slam semifinal after proving too good for Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The US Open champion powered past Svitolina in an impressive 6-4 6-1 victory in their quarter-final on Rod Laver Arena.
Osaka, the 21-year-old fourth seed, was the aggressor throughout and she was too strong for the sixth-seeded Svitolina.
Svitolina, who beat Osaka twice last year, is now 0-4 in major quarter-finals and needed treatment during the second set.
Osaka will face either Serena Williams or Karolina Pliskova in the last four.
After a few relatively comfortable holds, Osaka and Svitolina traded breaks, the former using her power to grab a 5-3 lead.
Serving for the set, Osaka produced some nervy points from 30-15 to allow Svitolina to get back on serve once more.
Incredibly, Osaka gave up a 0-40 lead in the next game, but a return winner and Svitolina hitting the net with a backhand saw the Japanese star take the set.
Osaka quickly grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second set before Svitolina took a medical timeout for treatment on her shoulder/neck area.
But the break did nothing to slow down Osaka, who closed out a superb victory in one hour, 12 minutes.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Osaka [4] bt Svitolina [6] 6-4 6-1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Osaka - 31/25
Svitolina - 11/16
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Osaka - 8/0
Svitolina - 1/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Osaka - 5/13
Svitolina - 2/4
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Osaka - 61
Svitolina - 58
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Osaka - 64/52
Svitolina - 60/27
TOTAL POINTS
Osaka - 60
Svitolina - 46
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