Sloane Stephens crushes Kerber to reach Miami semis

Sloane Stephens appears back to her big-match best after dropping just three games against Angelique Kerber to seal a spot in the Miami Open semifinals.

The reigning US Open champion beat the in-form German 6-1 6-2 in just 61 minutes, a day after straight-setting Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza.

She’ll face Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals after the Belarusian upset fifth seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets on Tuesday night.

This is Stephens’ best result at a tournament since her breakthrough at Flushing Meadows last September.

And it’s a performance that will boost her inside the world’s top 10 for the first time.

She was as good as Kerber was awry; while Stephens belted 22 winners and limited her unforced errors to just 13, Kerber sprayed 25 of her own while managing just nine winners.

“I just played my game. I had a good game plan, and I stuck to it the whole time and I tried to execute as well as I could in the wind,” Stephens said.

“I just tried to stay as focused as I could be.”

Kerber felt the effect of yesterday’s 3hr effort. “I always believe I can win the match or turn it around, but at the end when I was trying to be aggressive, one step was too slow every time. I was always one step too far from the ball and then I make mistakes.” #MiamiOpen

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 27, 2018

Yet regardless of how Kerber played, it’s a match-up that seems to suit Stephens – the American has now won their last four meetings, all in straight sets, dating back to 2015.

Kerber’s only victory against Stephens came back in 2012 at Indian Wells – and she barely scraped through that.

Stephens will go into the semifinal against Azarenka with the confidence of having beaten the former world No.1 for the first time in their last meeting, just two weeks ago at Indian Wells.

“I need to play better for sure than I played last time,” Azarenka laughed after seeing off Pliskova 7-5 6-3.

“I have to keep my unforced errors down, because last time I did a few of those. But she’s such a terrific player – she’s been playing amazing. Especially last year what she’s done at the US Open is pretty remarkable.

“So I feel like I need to play my best tennis but I also want to focus on myself and keep enjoying it.”

.@vika7 extends her @MiamiOpen streak to 11!?

Edges Pliskova 7-5, 6-3
?The 2016 champ will face @SloaneStephens in the semis. pic.twitter.com/5QRIDqWXkw

— WTA (@WTA) March 28, 2018

It’s little surprise Azarenka is enjoying being back on court.

Just two events in to her comeback following an eight-month hiatus, the three-time Miami champion barely looks like she’s been away.

She’s now beaten four straight seeded opponents at Key Biscayne, and was able to shrug off the disappointment of letting slip a 5-2 lead in the opening set against Pliskova in 96 minutes.

Despite the breezy evening conditions, Azarenka was able to keep her unforced error count lower than her tally of winners (18-16), while Pliskova struggled, committing 35 errors.

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“It wasn’t easy. Karolina is a very good player,” said Azarenka, whose vaunted return helped her break the fearsome Pliskova serve seven times.

“I felt like I had a very good lead and then let it go a little bit, but she really stepped it up so I had to fight back and it’s not easy with the wind conditions We’re both pretty hard hitters so I had to adjust a little bit and play a little bit with more touch and play a little bit safer, but I think I moved pretty well, which helped me a lot today

“I didn’t step away by choice. But I’m really happy to be back, really glad to be playing and improving at this stage of my career. It’s really important to see progress and I’m really enjoying it.”