Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber eased into the semi-finals of the Nature Valley International with a dominant straight-sets victory over former world number one Simona Halep.
The 31-year-old German, preparing to defend her title at the All England Club next week, progressed 6-4 6-3 in Eastbourne.
Kerber secured two early breaks of serve in each set and proved too strong for her Romanian opponent with a series of aggressive ground strokes.
"I know to play against Simona you have to play until the last point because you never know what could happen," said Kerber at her post-match press conference.
"For me, it's important to have here another good match and going with confidence to Wimbledon. That is the goal for me."
World number five Kerber, a two-time runner-up in the competition, will face unseeded Ons Jabeur in the last four.
Tunisian Jabeur, who on Wednesday knocked out British number one Johanna Konta, battled back from a set down to defeat France's Alize Cornet 1-6 7-5 6-3 despite suffering an ankle injury.
In the bottom half of the draw, third seed Kiki Bertens will play 2017 champion Karolina Pliskova.
Dutch player Bertens edged past last year's beaten finalist Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 3-6 6-4, while world number three Pliskova cruised through with a 6-2 6-0 success against Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova.
