The 34-year-old produced a faultless display to thrash Bernal 6-1, 6-2 and progress to the semi-final of the Australian Open for the second time.

The only other time when the South African reached the last four in the first Grand Slam of the year was in 2020. That year, she lost to Japanese world number 2 Yui Kamiji in the semifinal round and she is looking in excellent shape to go a step further this year.

“I am happy with the composure I showed today in the midst of a barrage of heavy-hitting and winners faced during the match,” commented Montjane.

Montjane extended her head-to-head lead over the Colombian Bernal to 3-0 after winning their quarterfinal clash, and the Limpopo-born star can now look forward to a semi-final meeting with second seed Kamiji.

The two prominent women on the ITF Wheelchair tennis tour will serve up a treat of a semifinal on Monday.

Montjane and Kamiji will meet for the second time at the Australian Open, a rematch of their 2020 semifinal at the second grand slam of the year, which Kamiji won in straight sets.

The 26-year-old Japanese has won 26 of their 30 contests. The last time Montjane defeated the world number 2 was in the 2016 Melbourne Open.