Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina beat Jelena Ostapenko to reach her first Australian Open semi-final.
Rybakina fired 11 aces and 24 winners as she earned a dominating 6-2 6-4 win over Latvian Ostapenko.
The Kazakh took the win in an hour and 19 minutes after a long rain delay at Rod Laver Arena.
The 22nd seeded Rybakina will face either US world number three Jessica Pegula or two-time champion Victoria Azarenka for a place in the final.
“I’m super happy to be in the semi-finals for the first time,” said Rybakina, the youngest player remaining in the women’s draw.
“Of course I was nervous, especially in the last game. I’m super happy that I managed the emotions and I played really well today.”
Despite claiming the most prestigious title of her career with her surprise success at Wimbledon, Rybakina fell to 25th in the world – where she remains – because ranking points were not awarded in the grass-court major.
She then talked about not feeling like a Grand Slam champion and began their campaign in Melbourne on Court 13 rather than a show court.
Restored to the main stage at Melbourne Park, she followed her stunning win over top seed Iga Swiatek with another devastating display against 2017 French Open winner Ostapenko.
In a meeting between two of the three great champions still in the last eight, Rybakina got off to a confident start by breaking serve from 17th seed Ostapenko in the opener.
She created another opportunity in game five with her powerful shot before play was suspended by rain, returning after waiting around half an hour to clinch a double lead and eventually serve the set under the roof.
Ostapenko threatened to retaliate with a break early in the second set, but Rybakina quickly dashed those hopes, registering successive breaks in response to set up her second major semi-final.
She then sealed the match appropriately, sending a final ace to take her tournament-leading total to 35.
She added: “I will watch my opponents [tonight] but at the same time I need to rest and prepare for another tough game and battle.”
