Stephens to face Azarenka in semifinals

American Sloane Stephens needed just over an hour to cruise past Germany’s former world No.1 Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-2 and reach the Miami Open semifinals for the first time on Tuesday.

The US Open champion fired her 22nd winner on match point to dispatch the 10th-seeded Kerber and set up a showdown with three-time champion Victoria Azarenka, who scored a 7-5, 6-3 victory over world No.6 Karolina Pliskova.

The win guarantees that 25-year-old Florida native Stephens will make her debut in the top 10 when the WTA rankings are released after the tournament.

Tuesday’s win was Stephens’ second straight triumph over a former world No.1 after she defeated third-seeded Garbine Muguruza to reach the quarterfinals on Monday.

Stephens faced just one break point in reaching her first semifinal since winning the US Open last year.

Kerber, who was playing less than 24 hours after a threeset win over Chinese qualifier Wang Yafan that lasted nearly three hours, said her schedule was beginning to take its toll.

“I was really feeling a little bit tired today,” Kerber said.

“I mean, of course it was windy, it was tricky, but I have played so many matches in the last three months that I was feeling it a little bit today in my body.”

Azarenka continued her strong run in Miami where she has now won 11 straight dating back to her 2016 title triumph.

Azarenka, who broke Pliskova seven times, will be playing in her first semifinal in two years. The former world No.1 was absent from the game for eight months due to a custody dispute involving her son.