Australian Ashleigh Barty has continued her impressive tennis comeback, winning through to the semi-finals of the Malaysian Open.
Barty scored a 6-0 7-6 (7-2) victory over Zhang Kai-Lin of China in Friday's last-eight encounter.
The 20-year-old Australian was rarely troubled on serve throughout the match, facing just two break points, while constantly making inroads on her opponent's and was outright dominant in the opening set.
The win sets her up for a semi-final showdown with Chinese world No.139 Xinyun Han of China and a guaranteed 110 rankings points, which would see her jump to around 125 in the world as her comeback continues to gather momentum.
Han upset the last remaining seed in the bottom half of the draw, compatriot Qiang Wang, with a 6-7 (7-4) 6-2 6-4 win, breaking serve to take out the match on her first match point.
Were Barty to go all the way and win a first WTA Tour singles title she could make it back into the top 100 in just the third month after her return to the tour.
Barty and regular partner Casey Dellacqua are also into the doubles final at the event as they chase their first title together since 2014.
The pair brushed aside Belgian Elise Mertens and Turk Ipek Soylu 6-3 6-2 and haven't dropped a set in the tournament.
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