Ash Barty set a new personal best for aces in a match as she rifled 17 past Sofia Kenin on the way through to the Adelaide International 1 semi-finals.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Barty won 31 of 32 points on first serve in a ruthless 6-3 6-4 victory over the 2020 Australian Open winner.
It sets up a tantalising last-four clash with Poland's defending champion Iga Swiatek, who is a frequent practice partner for Australian home favourite Barty.
Explaining her stunning serving performance, Barty said: "I think towards the end Sofia was kind of leaning one way or the other, and I was able to kind of get up and hit my spots."
Facing former French Open winner Swiatek will be a major early-season test for the world number one, with the Warsaw-born 20-year-old fending off former grand slam winner Victoria Azarenka 6-3 2-6 6-1 in Friday's quarter-final.
The other semi-final in Adelaide will see Misaki Doi take on Elena Rybakina after both won in three sets to get there, seeing off Kaja Juvan and Shelby Rogers respectively.
Melbourne Park is staging two tournaments this week, and there is the prospect of a starry final in Melbourne Summer Set 1, with Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep both through to the last four.
Top seed Osaka beat experienced German Andrea Petkovic 6-1 7-5, while second seed Halep had to scrap for a 6-2 5-7 6-4 win against Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.
Osaka took inspiration from Petkovic's fight in the second set of their contest. Quoted on the tournament website, she said: "It was really cool how she didn't give up for any point, so I just felt like I should do the same thing and see what happens."
Halep said her encounter with Golubic had been "really difficult", adding: "I didn't really trust that I can win this match, but I fought to the end, and I'm very proud of this."
Saturday's semi-finals of Melbourne Summer Set 2 will seed Daria Kasatkina take on Amanda Anisimova, while Ann Li plays Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Sabalenka to face Badosa after sweeping into third round at French Open
Aryna Sabalenka swept through to the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over qualifier Moyuka Uchijima on Thursday.
It only took 62 minutes for Sabalenka to secure a 6-2 6-2 win, with the second seed not being broken throughout the contest.
Rival Iga Swiatek had to come through a bruising battle against Naomi Osaka to reach the last 32 a day earlier, but there were no such complications for dominant Sabalenka against a Japanese opponent as she raced to victory.
She broke Uchijima twice in each set and racked up 27 winners in the match, coming out on top in 11 of her 14 points at the net.
The match was level at 2-2 until Sabalenka won four straight games to clinch the first set, not offering up a single break-point opportunity to Uchijima in the opener. She then had few issues closing it out in the second.
Data Debrief: Swiatek and Sabalenka set the standard
Sabalenka (60 wins) has now become only the second player to achieve 60 or more women's singles match wins at grand slam events since the start of the 2020 season, only trailing Swiatek, who has 67.
This win means she has made it to the third round at Roland Garros for five straight editions. Sabalenka is hoping to better her semi-final berth from last season, having made the final at the WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome – losing to Swiatek each time – ahead of her campaign in Paris.
Sabalenka will next face former world number two Paula Badosa in a marquee third-round clash. The Spanish player progressed after battling back from a set down to defeat Yulia Putintseva 4-6 6-1 7-5.
Medvedev moves into French Open third round after Kecmanovic retires injured
Daniil Medvedev advanced to the French Open third round after Miomir Kecmanovic was forced to retire injured in their round-two clash at Roland-Garros.
The former US Open champion prevailed in just 55 minutes at 6-1 5-0 ahead on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, when his opponent was unable to continue.
Medvedev has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the clay-court major, reaching the last eight in 2021, but has plenty of energy still in reserve after his premature win.
A runner-up at the Australian Open and Indian Wells this season, the fifth seed was in dominant form throughout the contest, and will play either Mariano Navone or Tomas Machac in round three.
Data Debrief: Medvedev continues to make strides on clay
Medvedev has now won 36 career ATP matches on clay, with 50 per cent of those coming since the start of the 2023 season (18).
The fifth seed won 23 of his 27 points on first serve (85 per cent), while converting five of nine break points, and hitting 26 winners to just six unforced errors.
Sinner thrashes home favourite Gasquet to make French Open third round
Jannik Sinner cruised into the French Open third round after making light work of home favourite Richard Gasquet in a straight-sets victory on Wednesday.
The world number two overcame Christopher Eubanks in his first Roland-Garros meeting and had similar ease against French veteran Gasquet on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Having triumphed at the Australian Open in January, Sinner will be dreaming of a second major title after his convincing 6-4 6-2 6-4 success in the French capital.
Buoyed on with confidence from a straight-sets win against Eubanks on Monday, Sinner stole a decisive break at 3-3 in the first set to undo 37-year-old Gasquet.
Gasquet, a 16-time ATP Tour champion, struggled to respond after that opening blow, holding his service just twice in a one-sided second set.
Sinner continued to dictate play from deep on the court, pulling Gasquet apart at will to tee up a routine win in just two hours and 17 minutes.
Data Debrief: Sinner riding major wave
Fresh from his major-winning exploits in Australia, Sinner is a remarkable 9-0 in grand slam competition this year.
The 22-year-old extended to a 12-1 record against players ranked outside the top 10 at Roland-Garros, while he now has 26 wins and just one loss against Frenchmen since August 2020.
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