Australia's last hope at the Adelaide International has crashed out after Swiss Belinda Bencic beat Storm Sanders in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
Sanders battled hard throughout Thursday night's match, but her inability to convert break points proved costly as Bencic secured the 6-2 6-4 win in 95 minutes.
The final scoreline didn't truly reflect the closeness of the match.
Sanders, the world No. 292, converted just one of her nine break point chances, letting Bencic off the hook at several crucial stages of the contest.
In contrast, world No.12 Bencic converted four of nine break point attempts.
Bencic struck 26 winners to 22, with 26-year-old Sanders committing 27 unforced errors.
Momentum was on Sanders' side after battling back from 3-1 down in the second set to level it at 3-3.
But Bencic held her cool when the heat was on, with the win setting up a semi-final showdown against 16-year-old American Coco Gauff.
"All the credit to Storm, she played amazing," Bencic said during her on-court interview.
"I knew she was going to be an uncomfortable opponent (being) a lefty. I had a hard time getting used to her, how she plays, because I've never played her before and she's still kind of unknown.
"So I'm sure we're going to hear a lot (about her in the future), and it was a great tournament for her."
Sanders is yet to win a WTA title, but her promising display in Adelaide is set to give her an important rankings boost.
