Serena overwhelms Konta to sweep into Melbourne semis

MELBOURNE ( Reuters) - Serena Williams remained on course for her 23rd grand slam title by quelling the challenge of in-form Briton Johanna Konta 6-2 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the eighth time on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old American served up 10 aces and thumped 25 winners over 75 minutes on Rod Laver Arena to join sister Venus in the last four, where she will play 34-year-old Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

Ninth seed Konta, who reached the semi-finals here last year and won the Sydney warm-up tournament, managed a single break in the second set but was unable to cope with the power of the world number two.

Williams is seeking her seventh Melbourne Park title, which would assure her of a return to world number one in place of Angelique Kerber.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)