US Open champion Sloane Stephens brushed aside Russian Daria Kasatkina in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday to set up a repeat of last year’s Flushing Meadows final with fellow American and good friend Madison Keys.
The 10th seed produced a clinical performance to down Kasatkina, the conqueror of world number two Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 6-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Earlier in the day Keys, the 13th seed, reached the semi-finals for the first time by seeing off Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
“I’m excited to play my good friend in the semi-finals, we’ve already played in the US Open final and it’s really good for American tennis,” said Stephens.
The 25-year-old, who was ranked 957 just six weeks before her maiden Grand Slam triumph last year after a series of injury problems, is now into the semi-finals of a major for the third time.
The two players traded breaks early in the match, before Stephens produced some ferocious hitting at the end of a marathon eighth game to give herself the chance to serve for the opening set.
She did just that, with the help of a sumptuous backhand drop shot.
The 14th-seeded Kasatkina kicked off the second set with a solid hold of serve, but Stephens broke in the third game with a venomous cross-court forehand and eased to victory after just an hour and 10 minutes of play.
In the other half of the draw, two-time champion Maria Sharapova will meet 2016 winner Garbine Muguruza on Wednesday, while world number one Simona Halep takes on double Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber.
With inputs from AFP
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