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Swiatek continued her relentless streak with a straight set victory over Navarro, while Keys came back to defeat Svitolina in three sets.
Fierce Iga Svetek stormed into her second Australian Open semi-final with a 6-1 6-2 demolition on Center Court of eighth seed Emma Navarro and the world number two will face a stern test against Madison Keys, who came back from defeat to beat Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The last two women's singles quarter-finals at Melbourne Park were played in contrasting fashion as Poland's Swiatek once again highlighted her first Grand Slam title of the year while top-seeded American Keys bounced back to make her first semi-final at Australian Open in 10 years.
The first quarter-final was tinged with controversy with Swiatek hitting a drop shot that looked dangerously close to a double bounce in the fifth game of the second set, which proved to be a hammer blow for Navarro.
A pulsating ball of energy from the first point to the last, Swiatek said her victory on the sun-drenched Rod Laver Arena was “much more difficult” than the score indicated.
The Pole has a 4-1 record against her next opponent, Keys, but expected a tough test against the American.
“Madison is a great player and really experienced, so you never know. The match I lost, she kind of killed me, so I think it might be tough,” she added.
After beating Ukraine's Svitolina, Keys said she was looking forward to cheering on Navarro as her compatriot took on the five-time Grand Slam champion.
But she was left to reflect on the scale of her task as she looks to secure her first Grand Slam final since the 2017 US Open.
The free-spirited Swiatek quickly rose to the challenge, conceding just 14 games in her five matches and posing a major threat to seed Aryna Sabalenka's bid for a third successful Australian Open title.
Earlier, Keys exploded into the last four with characteristic aggression to claim his 10th straight victory.
“To be here again 10 years later in the semi-finals, I'm really proud of myself and really excited,” said Keys, who reached the last four in 2015 and 2022.
“I just had to start playing a little more aggressive and try to get to the net a little faster.
“I think I played a little bit smarter for sure. Probably a little less fearless.
The 29-year-old from Rock Island, Illinois, has lost the last two of her three Grand Slam matches with Svitolina, most recently in the fourth round of the 2019 US Open.
But she battled back to take another step towards her second Grand Slam final.
“I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to appreciate my career as it was,” Keys said after the game.
“I did a really good job and really left it all out there,” added Keys, who has made just one Grand Slam final, at the 2017 US Open, where she lost to Sloane Stephens.
The American 19th seed will be 30 next month but leads the WTA Tour with 12 wins this season and is on a 10-match unbeaten run since lifting the title in Adelaide.
However, the American knows she has a fight ahead of her against Swiatek.
“I think Iga is hard to beat because she has a lot of natural spin on both sides. She is a good server. She is coming back well. She moves incredibly well,” Keys said.
“So I think it's really hard to ever really get ahead with a point.”
And then there were four…#AO2025 pic.twitter.com/hLi14mLcOv
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2025
