<p class="title">Former champion Angelique Kerber signalled her intent to wrest back the Australian Open title as she brutally crushed US Open finalist Madison Keys on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 2016 winner, seeded 21, brushed aside the American 17th seed 6-1, 6-2, breaking her much-vaunted serve at will as she triumphed in 51 one-sided minutes on Rod Laver Arena.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's always tough to play against Madison," said Kerber, who also won the US Open in 2016.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"She is hitting the ball so hard and I was just trying from the beginning, like I played the whole week, just to play my game.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I love playing in Australia and on Rod Laver Arena. I have so many good memories here."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The match was billed as a classic contrast of styles, the big-serving power game of Keys versus the scurrying, chase-everything-down, all-action approach of Kerber.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For Keys so much depends on the serve, which is a formidable weapon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When on song it sets up the American's power game as in her last-16 match when she blew away Caroline Garcia with 32 winners on the back of nine aces.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But on Wednesday Kerber negated it from the off, winning 57 percent of points on Keys' first serve.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And, without a plan B, Keys was broken four times in an error-riddled five games as the German raced to the first set 6-1 in 22 minutes and went 3-1 up in the second.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I was not thinking a lot about winners or errors, I was staying in the moment and tried to play every single point," Kerber said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm just happy to get through and be here in the semis."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Keys, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne in 2015, momentarily held back the tide with a break to love to get back to 3-2.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the German juggernaut rolled on with a break back and a dominant hold, sealed with a tremendous overhead from near the baseline, to give Kerber a 5-2 advantage.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Keys, serving to stay in the tournament, opened with two double faults and moments later Kerber was back in the semi-finals where she will face either top seed Simona Halep or sixth seed Karolina Pliskova.</p>
<p class="title">Former champion Angelique Kerber signalled her intent to wrest back the Australian Open title as she brutally crushed US Open finalist Madison Keys on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 2016 winner, seeded 21, brushed aside the American 17th seed 6-1, 6-2, breaking her much-vaunted serve at will as she triumphed in 51 one-sided minutes on Rod Laver Arena.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's always tough to play against Madison," said Kerber, who also won the US Open in 2016.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"She is hitting the ball so hard and I was just trying from the beginning, like I played the whole week, just to play my game.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I love playing in Australia and on Rod Laver Arena. I have so many good memories here."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The match was billed as a classic contrast of styles, the big-serving power game of Keys versus the scurrying, chase-everything-down, all-action approach of Kerber.</p>.<p class="bodytext">For Keys so much depends on the serve, which is a formidable weapon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">When on song it sets up the American's power game as in her last-16 match when she blew away Caroline Garcia with 32 winners on the back of nine aces.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But on Wednesday Kerber negated it from the off, winning 57 percent of points on Keys' first serve.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And, without a plan B, Keys was broken four times in an error-riddled five games as the German raced to the first set 6-1 in 22 minutes and went 3-1 up in the second.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I was not thinking a lot about winners or errors, I was staying in the moment and tried to play every single point," Kerber said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I'm just happy to get through and be here in the semis."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Keys, who reached the semi-finals at Melbourne in 2015, momentarily held back the tide with a break to love to get back to 3-2.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the German juggernaut rolled on with a break back and a dominant hold, sealed with a tremendous overhead from near the baseline, to give Kerber a 5-2 advantage.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Keys, serving to stay in the tournament, opened with two double faults and moments later Kerber was back in the semi-finals where she will face either top seed Simona Halep or sixth seed Karolina Pliskova.</p>