PENG SHUAI raced into her first grand slam semi-final with a convincing win over 17-year-old Belinda Bencic at the US Open.
The Swiss teenager has attracted most of the attention for her run to the last eight, which included the first two victories over top-10 players of her career.
But she was totally outplayed by Peng, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament and blasted 24 winners in a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
The 28-year-old becomes the third Chinese player after two-time grand slam champion Li Na and Zheng Jie to reach the last four at a slam.
The breakthrough has come in her 37th slam tournament, and an emotional Peng said: "It's an amazing time for me. It's a little bit too exciting.
"I love tennis but it's a long time my career, it's been tough sometimes. I was thinking about giving up because I don't know if I can make it.
"I want to say thanks to my coach and my parents because they tell me to fight and never give up. And that today was coming."
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