Mirjana Lucic-Baroni's fairytale run continued its merry way as the veteran Croatian dumped the US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova out of the Australian Open, with Serena Williams next up.
Venus vs Vandeweghe in semifinals
Having reached the women's singles quarterfinals in Melbourne from absolutely nowhere, Lucic-Baroni showed the composure to take out the big-serving Pliskova in three hard-fought sets.
Baroni came through 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in an hour and 47 minutes, adding the fifth seed to her scalps in this tournament, having already beaten No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska earlier.
"I can't believe this, this is crazy," said Lucic-Baroni. "I can't believe I'm in semifinals again. I feel a little bit in shock right now.
"I know this means a lot to every player to reach the semifinals. But to me this is overwhelming I will never, never forget this day and this last couple of weeks.
"The fact I was this strong and could fight this hard is incredible."
First semifinal after 18 years
This semifinal will be Lucic-Baroni's second of her career, having reached the final four of Wimbledon, way, way back in 1999, when she was a 17-year-old prodigy.
Next for the 34-year-old is 35-year-young Serena Williams, who just had too much power from the back of the court for Johanna Konta.
The world number two knew that she would have to play really well to top Konta, who has been in sublime form this year, and while the serving was not up to her usual standards, Serena showed, at 35, she still has the power and movement around the court to give any player the runaround.
After powering through the opening set, Serena, 1-3 down at one point, ran five games in a row in the second to complete a 6-2, 6-3 victory in an hour and 15 minutes and make it to a 34th career Grand Slam semifinal.
"She's been playing so well, she's been cleaning up her matches," Serena said of the No.9 seeded Konta. "She's a future champion here for sure so I was just really happy to be able to get through that.
"My main focus was actually my serve, even though I missed a lot today, I got a little frustrated. I just told myself, stop complaining and don't be a baby. I was like, just have fun and enjoy the moment."
Sania tops Bopanna
In an India vs India mixed doubles quarterfinal match, Sania Mirza got the better of her compatriot Rohan Bopanna. Sania and her doubles partner Ivan Dodig held their nerves in a tense quarterfinal battle against Bopanna and Gabriela Dabrowski, winning 6-4, 3-6, 12-10.
Sania and Dodig were on the brink in the super tie-breaker, down three straight match points, before having to fight off another one soon after, but they somehow held their nerve and as Bopanna and Dabrowski wilted under the pressure, a smash that went long from Bopanna handed the number two seeds the win and a place in the semifinals.
In the men's singles, 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov eased into the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over No.11 seed David Goffin.
