Pegula dismantles Kasatkina in Tokyo to reach the last four

Jessica Pegula reached the semi-finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament courtesy of heavily one-sided win over Daria Kasatkina, thrashing the Russian 6-1, 6-0.

It is the American’s first appearance since reaching the fourth round of her home Grand Slam in New York earlier this month.

Pegula, ranked No 4, will face the winner of the match between Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, the No 5 seed, and Greek Maria Sakkari, the No 4 seed, next.

In the previous round, the American won against Spaniard Cristina Bucsa (6-1, 6-2).

Kasatkina, ranked No 13, defeated Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (3-6, 6-4, 6-3) and Greek qualifier Despina Papamichail (6-4, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.