It is the British number two’s second WTA Tour semi-final since winning the Monterrey Open in March 2016, with her run at last summer’s Aegon International Eastbourne the last time she managed to reach the last four of a tournament.
“Every match I play, I feel like I'm getting better and better, tennis-wise and mentally,” Watson said during her on-court interview. “I'm just very happy at the moment.”
Watson, who won the Hobart International three years ago, started her quarter-final in superb form and raced into a commanding 6-0, 5-0 lead.
“I was very happy with how I played today.” Watson added. Even at 6-0, 5-0, I don't think I dropped my level much at all. I think Donna raised hers and I knew she would because she's a great competitor.
“She's a big hitter, who can hit winners from pretty much anywhere. When that started to happen, the most important thing was not to panic. When you go that far up, it can feel a bit up and down when you lose the next four games, but I had to realize that I was still 5-4 up and playing well.
“My confidence is very high at the moment. At the beginning of the year, you want a lot of matches and that's definitely what I've gotten the last two weeks. I'm not even thinking about the Australian Open, and just about my next match here.”
Watson won 6-0 6-4 to reach her second WTA Tour semi-final since winning the Monterrey Open in March 2016.
The world number 74, who won the title in Tasmania in 2015, had a 6-0 5-0 lead but had to dig deep as her Croatian opponent won four games in a row.
Watson, 25, will face defending champion Elise Mertens on Friday.
The Briton last reached the semi-finals of a tour event at Eastbourne in 2017.
"My confidence is very high at the moment," Watson said. "At the beginning of the year, you want a lot of matches and that's definitely what I've gotten the last two weeks.
"Every match I play, I feel like I'm getting better and better, tennis-wise and mentally."
Watson will now play the second seed and defending champion Elise Mertens for a place in the final. Yesterday's Australian Open draw pitted her against Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the opening round.
“Elise obviously also loves it here and has been playing really well,” Watson said of her next opponent. “She shot up the rankings next year so it'll be a tough match.”
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