Magic Makarova routs Halep to reach semi-finals

Wednesday, 28 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Ekaterina Makarova continued her impressive rise as a grand slam contender by dismantling listless third seed Simona Halep 6-4 6-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The 10th-seeded Russian, who made her maiden grand slam semi-final at the US Open last year, leaped on Romanian Halep’s serve, breaking her twice in the first set and three times in the second to roar to a 5-0 lead. A shell-shocked Halep was utterly overwhelmed and meekly surrendered the match by crunching a backhand wide of the tramlines after 69 minutes. Makarova will play the winner of Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard for a place in the final.