Coco Gauff swept aside Varvara Gracheva 6-1 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Auckland Classic on Friday as the U.S. Open champion continued her impressive buildup to the first Grand Slam of the year at Melbourne Park.

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Rain delayed the start of the match but once play began Gauff needed only 53 minutes to see off her French rival. The 19-year-old has not dropped a set in her title defence and did not face a single break point on Friday.

The world number three raced through the opening set and took a 4-0 lead in the second before Gracheva held serve, and with dark clouds gathering once again Gauff was quick to wrap up a victory which pits her against Emma Navarro in an all-American semi-final.

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“I was focusing on playing my game,” Gauff said. “I thought I served really well, probably the best so far in the tournament, which is something I’ve been working on off-season. I’m really happy with how I played.

“I’m glad I was able to finish my match (before it could rain).”

At the Brisbane International, another warm-up tournament (for the January 14-28 Australian Open), Victoria Azarenka beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-3 3-6 7-5 to make the last four.

“With Jelena sometimes you just have to put on a helmet and try to stay in there,” said Azarenka, who next faces Aryna Sabalenka or Daria Kasatkina. “But she’s an incredible player, we’ve seen that many times. She’s a Grand Slam champion, she proved many times that she can beat anyone on any given day.”

In the men’s section, Rafa Nadal, playing his first tournament after a lengthy injury layoff, will take on Australian Jordan Thompson later in the day for a place in the last four.

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