US Open champion Coco Gauff brushed apart Varvara Gracheva to succeed in the Auckland Traditional semi-finals as she builds towards the Australian Open.
It took Gauff, 19, simply 52 minutes to seal a 6-1 6-1 quarter-final win and arrange a last-four assembly with fellow American Emma Navarro.
The Australian Open will get beneath manner in Melbourne on 14 January.
In the meantime, Briton Harriet Dart has reached the most important remaining of her profession on the Canberra Worldwide.
Dart, 27, beat American Katie Volynets 7-5 3-6 7-5 within the WTA 125 sequence event, which is the rung instantly under the total WTA Tour.
The British quantity three faces Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz in Saturday’s remaining after which heads to Melbourne the place Australian Open qualifying begins on Monday.
Victory would put Dart getting ready to a return to the highest 100.
Gauff has by no means been past the fourth spherical on the Australian Open, reaching that stage in 2023 and 2020, however the indicators look optimistic for her as she seems to defend the Auckland Traditional title.
“I believed I served rather well, most likely the perfect up to now within the event, which is one thing I have been engaged on low season. I am actually pleased with how I performed,” Gauff mentioned.
Elsewhere, world quantity 4 Elena Rybakina and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka are by means of to the semi-finals of the Brisbane Worldwide.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina will meet Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic after quarter-final opponent Anastasia Potapova retired on the finish of the primary set with a abdomen downside.
Belarusian Azarenka, who received the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013, took two hours and half-hour to see off third-seeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 3-6 7-5.
In the meantime, Briton Heather Watson and Belgian accomplice Greet Minnen are into the doubles remaining of the Brisbane Worldwide, beating Cristina Bucsa and Alexandra Panova 2-6 6-4 10-8 to arrange a remaining in opposition to Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko.
