Rising Swiss tennis star Marie-Gaïané Mikaelian is just two wins away from her first WTA tour title after comfortably reaching the semi-finals in Tashkent.

The 18-year-old from Lausanne dropped just one game in Friday's quarter-final action as she brushed aside Belarusian player Nadejda Ostrovskaya (WTA 228) 6-0, 6-1.

While many of the world's top women are currently playing at the Vienna Open or preparing for Wimbledon at the grass court tournament in Birmingham, Mikaelian (WTA 50) has chosen to play at the slightly less lucrative Tashkent tournament - but her decision could now pay off handsomely.

Seeded number one for the first time at a WTA event, the Swiss teenager will now face Italian third seed Tathiana Garbin (WTA 86) for a place in Sunday's final. Garbin also enjoyed a fairly simple passage into the semis, beating fellow Italian Maria Elena Camerin (WTA 148) 6-4, 6-1.

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