Angelique Kerber returns to form in rout of American Madison Keys

MELBOURNE, Australia — For anyone who doubted, this was Angelique Kerber in 2016 vintage form. Kerber routed U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open, the tournament where she kicked off her career-best season in 2016 with victory over Serena Williams in the final.

She also won the U.S. Open and finished that year with the No. 1 ranking. But she was upset in the first round at Melbourne Park last year, and her ranking dropped into the 20s.

The 30-year-old Kerber won the Sydney International to prepare for the first major of the year, then won her first three rounds in straight sets. Her third-round victory over Maria Sharapova meant she was the only singles Grand Slam winner remaining in the women’s draw.

But she struggled in fourth-round win over No. 88 Hsieh Su-wei going to three tough sets and was coming up against No. 17 Keys who hadn’t lost a set in the tournamenht.

Kerber responded by winning the first four games to take control of the quarterfinal — her first at a major since the 2016 U.S. Open. Keys held in the fifth game of the first set, but Kerber went on another roll to lead 3-0 in the second set.

Keys slowed the momentum by holding and then getting her first service break of the match, but Kerber responded quickly to finish it off in 51 minutes. She broke Keys six times in total in the match.

“It’s always tough to play against Madison,” said Kerber, who has now won seven of eight matches against Keys. “She’s hitting the ball so hard, the serve is also really fast, so I was just trying from the beginning like I played the whole week, just going out there, playing my game and enjoying it.”

For Keys, it was another disappointing loss in a major. She reached the U.S. Open final last September but lost in straight sets to Sloane Stephens.

Nadal retires with injury

On an injured right leg and visibly struggling, Rafael Nadal retired while trailing in the fifth set of his Australian Open quarterfinal match against Marin Cilic late Tuesday night.

Nadal fended off five break points in the last game before Cilic broke his serve, then the 16-time major winner went to shake hands with the umpire and his opponent, and angrily hurled his headband into his equipment bag. No. 6-seeded Cilic advanced to his first semifinal in Australia since 2010 with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 2-0, retired.

Caroline Wozniacki reached the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win over Carla Suarez Navarro after 1:30 a.m. It’s taken Wozniacki, the No. 2 seed who has never won a major, seven years to get back to the semifinals at Melbourne Park.