Monday 21 January 2019 08:27, UK
Elina Svitolina will take on US Open champion Naomi Osaka in a mouth-watering Australian Open quarter-final after both battled through their respective last-16 clashes.
Svitolina defeated Madison Keys 6-2 1-6 6-1 to reach the last eight for the second consecutive year, but to reach her maiden Grand Slam semi-final the Ukrainian must get past US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who defeated Anastasija Sevastova 4-6 6-3 6-4.
The sixth-seeded Svitolina battled for nearly three hours to see off Zhang Shuai in the previous round and showed impressive mental strength again in a tough three-set victory over American Keys.
A game lasting more than 10 minutes at 1-1 in the third was the key, with Svitolina, who won her biggest title at the WTA Finals last October, eventually holding serve and then racing to victory.
It is only the second time in the last six major tournaments that Keys has not made at least the last eight.
After surviving Hsieh Su-wei in the previous round, Osaka found herself up against another tricky customer in Latvian Sevastova, who made the semi-finals in New York.
Sevastova took the opening set but Osaka gradually began to make her extra power count and finished off the victory with her 51st winner to reach the last eight in Melbourne for the first time.
Osaka revealed she was inspired by the success of Stefanos Tsitsipas, saying: "I was watching all these kids winning. Last night Tsitsipas beat Federer, and I was like, 'Woah'. I decided I wanted to do really well too."
Karolina Pliskova has been under the radar so far this tournament but she made a statement with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Garbine Muguruza.
The seventh seed, a quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park now for three years in a row, was in sensational form against Muguruza, hitting 23 winners and only three unforced errors.
"I'm feeling great. I always feel good energy here," the 2016 US Open finalist said. "I feel like these conditions can be good for me."
Pliskova will face the winner of the clash between world No 1 Simona Halep and seven-time winner of the tournament Serena Williams.
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