MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Dominika Cibulkova won the last eight games in a one-hour, 6-3, 6-0 quarterfinal rout Wednesday of No. 11-seeded Simona Halep of Romania at the Australian Open.
The diminutive Cibulkova, among the shortest women on the WTA tour at 1.61 meters (5-feet-3), pounded Halep from the back of the court to progress to her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2009 French Open. It was her second win in five major quarterfinals and served as a harsh lesson for Halep, who was appearing in her first.
Halep only won 10 points in the second set as Cibulkova relentlessly attacked.
No. 20-seeded Cibulkova, who beat Maria Sharapova in three sets in the fourth round, will play the winner of Wednesday's later quarterfinal between two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska.