Top seed Muguruza roars into Tokyo semi-finals

New world number one Garbine Muguruza overpowered France’s Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open.

Earlier former number one Angelique Kerber won a war of attrition with second seed Karolina Pliskova to book her place in the last four.

Spaniard Muguruza, playing her first tournament since reaching the top of the women’s world rankings, never looked threatened in a one-sided quarter-final.

The Wimbledon champion stormed to a 5-1 lead before ripping a half-court forehand into the corner to secure the first set.

Muguruza advanced to face either title-holder Caroline Wozniacki or Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova.

Kerber, seeded seventh and a former Tokyo finalist, came through 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 as she repelled some brutal hitting from her Czech opponent in a contest of real quality.

Pliskova, who herself briefly held the women’s top ranking over the summer, produced moments of brilliance at the net but ultimately crumbled under relentless pressure from the German.