Third seed Caroline Wozniacki has continued her dominant passage through the ASB Classic with an emphatic win over Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru.

The world No.17, the highest ranked player left in the tournament, swept past Dulgheru 6-1 6-0 on Thursday night.

Producing some brilliant shot-making and making few unforced errors, Wozniacki set the tone by winning the first eight points of the match.

She maintained her level to wrap up the contest in just 52 minute.

Wozniacki was runner-up last year to American Venus Williams, this week’s top seed but who was a first-round casualty.

She was rusty early on in her opening-round win over Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, but lifted in beating American Christina McHale 6-0 6-2 in round two.

In the semi-finals on Friday, she will meet another American in Sloane Stephens.

Fifth seed Stephens booked her berth in the last four by ending the run of heavy-serving British qualifier Naomi Broady, winning 7-6 (8-6) 6-3.

There were no breaks before the first set tie-break and Broady had the first set point, but couldn’t convert on serve and Stephens made no mistake with her first opportunity.

Broady, the first-round conqueror of Serbian No.2 Ana Ivanovic, again had chances in the second set, including two break points to bring the set back to serve, but again missed out.

The other semi-final will between unseeded German Julia Goerges and Austrian qualifier Tamira Paszek.

Goerges, the world No.50, beat her 66th-ranked Japanese opponent Nao Hibino 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-4.

Goerges is making her seventh successive appearance in the Auckland tournament, having reached the semi-finals once before, in 2011, when she lost to eventual champion Greta Arn of Hungary.

Paszek won a marathon battle against fellow qualifier Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, prevailing 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 after two hours and 51 minutes.