Ekaterina Makarova claims "aggressive" approach helped her beat Simona Halep

Ekaterina Makarova has said that her aggressive style of play helped her to beat Simona Halep in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

The Russian eased past her Romanian opponent 6-4 6-0 to make the semi-finals in Australia for the first time, and she said that she had to take the initiative in a tight match.

She told reporters: "I'm so happy that I came through. I just tried to stay solid and to play my game. She's a tough opponent, and I lost to her already two years ago. She doesn't miss a lot, so every point we had really tough one and really long one.

"I tried to be more aggressive more to win this point because she never miss and she never give up."

Makarova will face Maria Sharapova for a place in the final.