Australian Open: Danielle Collins to play Iga Swiatek in Melbourne semi-finals

American Danielle Collins says it felt «incredible» to reach the Australian Open semi-finals less than a year after taking an indefinite break from tennis.

Collins, 28, had surgery for endometriosis in April, returning to action two months later.

Now the 27th seed has reached her second semi-final in Melbourne after a 7-5 6-1 win over France's Alize Cornet.

Collins faces seventh seed Iga Swiatek, who beat veteran Kaia Kanepi 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-3, in Thursday's semi-final.

Poland's Swiatek, who won the 2020 French Open title as a teenager, will play in her second Grand Slam semi-final after coming through an intense battle which lasted more than three hours.

For 36-year-old Kanepi, it was more quarter-final heartbreak. The Estonian was playing in her seventh major quarter-final — after six previous appearances in the past eight between 2008 and 2018 — and has lost all of them.

Both women's semi-finals will be played in Thursday's evening session after organisers moved them to the primetime spot in a break of tradition.

Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty takes on unseeded Madison Keys of the United States at 19:30 local time (08:30 GMT), with the match between Collins and Swiatek following.

Both of Collins' major semi-final appearances have been at Melbourne Park, with this one holding extra significance after her health concerns.

Collins announced she was stepping away from the tour last year to have the surgery, saying it was causing her «too much physical agony» and affecting her «overall day-to-day life.»

Endometriosis is a condition where cells like the ones in the lining of the womb grow elsewhere in the body.

After surgery and helped by medication, Collins says she is now having less painful periods and is able to train