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'Low to high': Muguruza shakes off illness to reach last four

Melbourne - Former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza was thrashed 6-0 in her first set at the Australian Open and could barely train because of a viral illness. Now she's in the semi-finals for the first time.

The 26-year-old Spaniard plays Simona Halep in the last four in Melbourne on Thursday, just two victories away from her third Grand Slam title.

It is all a far cry from the first round when Muguruza - unseeded at a Grand Slam for the first time since 2014 - folded 0-6 in the first set to American qualifier Shelby Rogers.

"I came not feeling great. I wasn't really thinking, how far will I go?" Muguruza said after defeating Russian 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Wednesday's quarter-finals.

"I had enough already thinking, how will I go practise today?"

Muguruza, now 32 in the world after a slump last year, roared back 6-1, 6-0 in the next two sets to beat Rogers.

She has not looked back and is enjoying good health once more.

"I took every day at a time. Like that, each day I was gaining a better feeling instead of getting frustrated thinking in the future," she said.

"It's definitely been from low to high, not starting at my best, then each day recovering."

Results on day 10 of the Australian Open Grand Slam at Melbourne Park on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):

Men's singles

Quarter-finals

Alexander Zverev (GER x7) bt Stan Wawrinka (SUI x15) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Women's singles

Quarter-finals

Simona Halep (ROM x4) bt Anett Kontaveit (EST x28) 6-1, 6-1

Garbine Muguruza (ESP) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x30) 7-5, 6-3

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