Caroline Wozniacki bounced back to reel off an impressive 4-6 6-0 6-3 victory in a three set thriller over Russian Ekatrina Makarova to set up a semi-final showdown with American qualifier Jamie Hampton.
And the Dane completed the rout to continue with a 100% winning career record against Makarova by registering her sixth success, on the back of three hard court triumphs last year against the world no25.
The world no9, who admits to having a soft spot for Devonshire Park after 10 seasons at the sleepy seaside resort outperformed the left hander. She following up her grinding straight set success over British teenager Laura Robson with another polished performance.
The no5 seed, whose plans to pitch up early at Eastbourne for practice after her 2nd Round exit at Roland Garros were scuppered by an airport strike, has a game perfectly suited to grass.
The semi-final spot overshadowed her indifference clay court displays, and leaves the ex-world no1 brimming with confidence ahead of SW19 – where last year she was bundled out in the 1st Round by newly-crowned Eastbourne winner Tamira Pazsek of Austria.
Wozniacki, yet to win a Grand Slam but settled for runner-up at the US Open, appeared with a blackened out racquet for the third time at the tournament. She is experimenting with the Yonex racquet, seeking extra power and spin to propel her way back up the world rankings.
And on the evidence of today’s triumph, it won’t be much longer before the Dane becomes great again on the WTA Tour and challenging for honours on the circuit rather than making up the numbers.
Wozniacki’s destruction of defending champion Paszek and Robson gave notice to the rest of the WTA Tour that she is back in business, and is surely a potential champion at Eastbourne.
Makarova was the litmus test for Wozniacki, with the former Devonshire Park winner having not dropped a set in her thrashing Russian compatriot Olga Puchkova and then stunning no3 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany.
The 22-year-old fell for a sixth successive match to Wozniacki, who remains on course to collect her first trophy since last October.
Wozniacki made a nervous start, with the pace of the opening set dictated by Makarova to snatch the lead, but nine successive games on the trot turned the tide for the ex-world no1 to stay on course for a shot at a second Eastbourne title.
Makarova fell apart in the second set, unforced errors brought an end to her challenge, with the Danish ex-world no1 hitting a purple patch of penetrating play in sudden cruise control.
With a third set to decide which former Eastbourne winner would progress, Makarova’s errors suddenly vanished and she returned to the sort of form displayed earlier in the tournament with such devastating effect.
But it was Wozniacki who was firing all the shots and confidently gunned down the Russian with aplomb.
The Dane reeled off the first three games and progressed to a 4-1 lead. Then nerves set in for Wozniacki as Makarova fought back to trail 4-3, only for the Russian to rush her service game that she lost.
With victory in sight, Wozniacki kept calm and took her time to serve out the match and claim a tough victory.With Wozniacki broken three times in the first set, the impressive manner in storming back with her counterpunching abilities proved too hot to handle for Makarova and a bagel set.
The great Dane said: “She came out very aggressively today, it was a very good match as she plays flat and fast.
“I’m just so happy to have won today and look forward to returning to the Centre Court.”
Lucie Safarova’s lethal forehand drives saw off the challenge of close friend Klara Zakopalova 6-4 7-6 for a first ever grass court victory over her Czech compatriot.
Elena Baltacha, the world no200, looked out-of-sorts with a tame 6-3 6-0 defeat to former Eastbourne champion Ekatrina Makarova in the opening round of the 2013 French Open.
Eastbourne Tennis 