Victoria Azarenka booked her place in the semi-finals of the Miami Open with a 7-5 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova.

The Czech fifth seed, 26, recovered from going two breaks down to level at 5-5, before Belarus’ Azarenka took the opener on her fifth set point.

The pair exchanged breaks in the second set before the three-time champion pulled through.

Azarenka, 28, will meet Sloane Stephens in the last four, after the American’s win over Angelique Kerber.

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Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, brushed aside the German former world number one 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour to advance to her first semi-final since her victory in New York.

It means the 13th seed will be named in the world’s top 10 when the rankings are released next week.

“I am so tired of hearing that I am number 11 in the world,” said the 25-year-old.

“It’s very exciting to get there, something I have wanted to do for a while. Getting into the top 10 is pretty special and something I have worked on for a long time.”

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