Azarenka Creates AO Quarterfinal Clash With Kerber

Two-time Australian Open victor Victoria Azarenka brought Naomi Osaka’s first Grand Slam run to an end in abrupt fashion on Saturday, demolishing the young Japanese player 6-1, 6-1 in the women’s singles third round in Melbourne.

Muguruza had reached the fourth round in Melbourne in both 2014 and 2015. Who would she root for when Newton’s Panthers face the Broncos in the Super Bowl?

Fans at the Australian Open have seen Victoria Azarenka displaying a version of the “dab” to celebrate her victories into the fourth-round.

He said it hurts somethings landing on the hard courts as he chases balls other players would leave, adding “Maybe something snaps in my mind, and I just go for it…”

“I think I just couldn’t find the court, my shots and didn’t really find my game”. “I’m happy I played smart and played tough and that I was able to keep my composure”. The pair fought out a rather one-sided final in Brisbane a fortnight ago, which was won by the Belarussian who remains defeated against her German opponent.

She turned heads after coolly working her way past 18th seed Elina Svitolina in the second round, but the learning curve was too steep for the world number 127 against the accomplished Azarenka.

This followed a 6-4, 7-5 win over Camila Giorgi and a 6-1, 6-2 win over Hsieh Su-wei in the first and second rounds respectively.

However, Azarenka looks like she’s back to being a top-three tennis player, and she has the huge mental advantage knowing she’s beaten Kerber every time they’ve played.

Tenth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro overcame a seriously slow start to rebound for a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Russian-born Australian Daria Gavrilova and reach the quarterfinals.

In men’s action Stan Wawrinka won his 400th tour-level match with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Lukas Rosol in a third-round match.

Osaka showed signs of her enormous potential early on by drawing first blood, breaking Azarenka’s serve in the very first game of the match.

Azarenka was just warming up and she began turning on the style with some blistering forehands and effective net work to break again in the fourth game and again in the seventh. For some reason, the Czech has got her season truly underway this week in Melbourne, accounting for the 32nd seed, Caroline Garcia 62, 64 in the first round and the 3rd seed, Garbine Muguruza 63, 62 in the third. But yeah I was in the first match, match point down. “She’s a little unpredictable and she surprised me with her game”.

Kerber has racked up 52 winners in her last two matches and has had 23 or less unforced errors in her last three matches. That being said, the current world number 48 has had wins over the likes of former Grand Slam winners Petra Kvitova and Na Li. “I make everyone cry”.

A succession of injuries over the past two years and a bout of depression have slowed the Belarussian, who clinched back-to-back titles at Melbourne Park in 2012-13.