Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open.
After three-time reigning men's titlist Novak Djokovic lost here on Tuesday, fifth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska took down two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 on Wednesday to set up a semifinal match with Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.
"I'm so happy and pleased, especially that I beat one of the best players in the world," Radwanska said. "Was not easy draw, not easy quarterfinal. I'm very happy that I made my first semifinal here."
The second-seeded Azarenka's 18-match winning streak in Melbourne came to a halt on Day 10. She was trying to become the first woman to win the singles title here in three consecutive years, or since Martina Hingis turned the trick from 1997-99.
Radwanska, who ended a streak of three consecutive quarterfinal defeats at the Aussie Open, committed just 15 unforced errors compared to 47 for Azarenka.
"She was aggressive. She was making everything. She was guessing right. I was just playing a little bit too predictive, you know," Azarenka said.
Azarenka had been a dominant 12-3 lifetime against her fellow 24-year-old Radwanska, including a come-from-behind Aussie quarterfinal victory two years ago.
Meanwhile, the 20th-seeded Cibulkova cruised past 11th-seeded Romanian Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 in a match that lasted just 60 minutes to secure her spot in the final four.
The 24-year-old Cibulkova, who stunned No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round on Monday, is the first woman from Slovakia to reach the Aussie Open semis since Daniela Hantuchova in 2008.
The diminutive Cibulkova improved to 2-3 in quarterfinal matches at Grand Slams, with her other win coming at the 2009 French Open.
"That time I was 19 years old. I was pretty young. I would say also a different player. You know, I am much more experienced," Cibulkova said.
Halep, who upended former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round, appeared overwhelmed in her Grand Slam quarterfinal debut.
"No, just I couldn't play today. I had emotions, big emotions, and I couldn't manage this," she said. "Before the match I was very nervous and I didn't feel the ball at all. I couldn't move my body and I couldn't play."
Fourth-seeded Chinese star Li Na and 30th-seeded blossoming 19-year- old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard will meet in the other semifinal on Thursday. The former French Open champion Li is a two-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, including last year against Azarenka.
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