Australian Open: Vandeweghe thrashes Muguruza to set up Venus semifinal

Coco Vandeweghe (Photo: AFP)


Unseeded CoCo Vandeweghe continued her stunning run at the 2017 Australian Open as she demolished 7th-seed Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 on Monday to set up a semifinal date with compatriot Venus Williams.

Earlier in the day, Williams had scripted a straight sets victory over Anastasia Pavlyucheknova but it was a marathon compared to Vandeweghe's triumph, such was the 25-year-old’s dominance.

Playing with her right hamstring strapped, Muguruza didn't give the World No.35 Vanderweghe much of a fight, going down tamely in a match that lasted less than an hour and a half.

Vandeweghe had sent shockwaves around the world with her blitz of defending champion and top-seed Angelique Kerber in the fourth round and against Muguruza she showed more of that breathtaking power that has won over so many in Melbourne.

The mercury wasn't as scalding as Monday, but it was still hot and Muguruza seemed to fade after a decent start to the tie, allowing her opponent to break her in the seventh game, after which Vanderweghe never looked back.

An extremely lop-sided second set ended in the American’s favour, embarrassing her higher-ranked opponent by wrapping the match up with a score of 6-0.

It is the first time Vandeweghe has reached a semifinal in her career and makes her a very dangerous opponent for the experienced Venus Williams, who had better watch out for she is likely to push her all the way as she bids to reach her maiden Slam final.