Swiatek sweeps into Melbourne semis, Sinner faces home test

MELBOURNE - Imperious Iga Swiatek swept into an Australian Open semi-final against Madison Keys on Wednesday while Jannik Sinner's powers of recovery will be tested to the limit when he faces home hope Alex de Minaur.

Awaiting the winner is American 21st seed Ben Shelton, who battled past Italian Lorenzo Sonego in four sets to reach the last four in Melbourne for the first time.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek edged closer to a first Australian Open crown with a ruthless 6-1, 6-2 victory over American eighth seed Emma Navarro in gusty conditions on Rod Laver Arena.

The 23-year-old second seed Swiatek is building up a head of steam in her title charge.

She has yet to drop a set and has lost only 14 games so far in her five matches - seven of those in her first-round clash against Katerina Siniakova.

"Madison is a great player and experienced so you never know," Swiatek said of the American.

"It will be tricky, I will just be focused on myself. She has already played a good tournament here and we are well aware of how she can play."

Swiatek enjoyed a moment of good fortune at 2-2 in the second set against Navarro.

Navarro played a drop shot that forced the Pole into a desperate slide to get the ball, which she thought she did, until replays showed it bounced twice.

The American was left miffed when she requested the chair umpire use video replay technology (VAR) to check what happened.

But she was turned down after waiting until the end of the point, rather than stopping play and asking right away.

"It's tough. I think we should be able to see it afterwards and make that call," said Navarro.

Keys stormed back from a set down to beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their quarter-final.

The 19th seed moved into the last four at Melbourne Park for the third time, 10 years after her first.

Keys, who will be 30 next month, leads the WTA Tour with 12 wins this season and is on a 10-match unbeaten streak after lifting the Adelaide title.

She had to show her resilience to fight back against 28th seed Svitolina.

"I felt like I kind of just had to start playing a little bit more aggressive and try to get to the net a little bit quicker," said Keys, who battled past former Melbourne finalists Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins on her way to the last eight.

Two-time defending champion and world number one Aryna Sabalenka plays Spain's 11th seed Paula Badosa in the other semi-final.

SHELTON AWAITS

World number one and defending champion Sinner had dizzy spells in the scorching heat of the afternoon during his four-set win against Holger Rune on Monday.

The 23-year-old Italian has an evening match against De Minaur with temperatures dropping considerably on the eleventh day of the first Grand Slam of the year.

De Minaur is looking to become the first Australian man to reach the semi-finals at his home Open since Lleyton Hewitt 20 years ago.

Sinner struggled in the muggy conditions against Rune, his hand visibly shaking and his heart rate taken in the third set before he left court for a medical timeout.

De Minaur has never beaten Sinner, losing all nine meetings, including in straight sets in the fourth round of the 2022 Australian Open.

The 22-year-old Shelton booked his place in the semi-finals with a battling 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) win over unseeded Sonego.

Shelton put in an all-action display to match his best performance at a major, having reached the US Open semi-finals in 2023.