World No.3 Simona Halep stormed past No.28 seed Anett Kontaveit in the Australian Open quarterfinal and will play the semifinals in Melbourne for the second time in three years. Halep defeated Kontaveit 6-1, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.

“It’s a pleasure to play in Australia and I’m really happy to play my best tennis and go through to the semifinals,” Simona Halep said after the match, quoted by Ausopen.com. “I felt great today on court, I feel my game, I feel strong on my legs and I knew how to play against her. I’ve just been focused on every game I played, and I really enjoy playing here in Melbourne.”

In the semifinal, which is scheduled for Thursday, the Romanian will meet Spanish Garbine Muguruza. The Spanish tennis ace owns the head-to-head edge over Halep with three wins to two, all three victories coming on hardcourts, according to Wtatennis.com.

Last year, Simona Halep stopped in the round of 16 match at the Australian Open, when she was defeated by American tennis star Serena Williams 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

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(Photo source: Facebook/Simona Halep)