Serena crushes Sharapova to reach Open semis

World number one Serena Williams destroyed Maria Sharapova for an 18th straight time Tuesday to inflict more pain on her long-time Russian rival and power into the Australian Open semi-finals.

The six-time Melbourne Park champion out-muscled the fifth seed 6-4, 6-1 and will meet Agnieszka Radwanska for a place in the final as she moves closer to matching Steffi Graf's Open-era Grand Slam record of 22 titles.