Second seed Petra Kvitova has won her way into the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

The Czech defeated unseeded Italian Sara Errani in straight sets – 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour 51 minutes.

Kvitova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, reached her first Australian Open semi-final, snuffing out a brief fightback from Errani in the second set.

She now plays the winner of the quarter-final between former champion Maria Sharapova and fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

Kvitova, the clear favourite, broke serve in the opening game of the match but found herself staring down a service break in the next as the pair fought for an edge.

The Czech took the crucial break to win the first set in 53 minutes before Errani battled her way to a 4-1 edge in the second set.

That was where her challenge ended though as Kvitova won the next five games straight, amassing three match points and sealing the clash after Errani netted a return.

“I expected a tough match because she has been playing well and also today played well,” Kvitova said.

“Backhand or forehand, I never knew where the ball would come to. So I had to concentrate on every point and always think about tactics.”