World number one Garbine Muguruza put on a clinical display to power past Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-4 in the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Tokyo on Friday

tokyo — World number one Garbine Muguruza put on a clinical display to power past Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-4 in the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals in Tokyo on Friday.

The 23-year-old Wimbledon champion, who climbed to the top of the WTA rankings on Monday, hardly broke sweat against the Frenchwoman, ranked 20th in the world, on her way to victory in an hour and 20 minutes.

“To achiev this dream I’ve had since I was a child gives me a lot of confidence first,” Muguruza said in a courtside interview. “A boost of motivation to hold this position — because I think it’s the best.”

The 2016 French Open winner will face defending champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark who went through to the semifinals after Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova was forced to retire with a right thigh injury while trailing 3-6 7-6(5) 3-1.

Earlier, Germany’s Angelique Kerber won a battle of former world number ones against Karolina Pliskova 7-6(5) 7-5 to set up a semi-final clash against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The two-time grand slam champion, who defeated her Czech opponent in their last meeting at the 2016 US Open final, converted her fifth match point to register a first win over a top-20 player this season.

“Being back in the semis here in Tokyo is a great feeling,” Kerber, who last reached the semifinals at the event in 2014, said after her victory.

“It’s always tough to play against (Pliskova), so I was trying to focus on my game. I think I played a good match today.”

Russian Pavlyuchenkova defeated another Czech player, Barbora Strycova, 5-7 6-3 6-1 to advance to the semi-finals. —