Kerber sets up Azarenka date in Australian Open quarters

By seeds – Azarenka is the No. 14 here – it’s no upset, but many had picked Azarenka, with her aggressive baseline play and penchant for big-match scenarios, as the favorite to come through the bottom half of the draw, which had lost No. 2 Simona Halep and No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza in the first week.

On paper, Azarenka’s 2015 was a disappointment: two Grand Slam quarterfinals and a year-end ranking of No. 22, a long way removed from her days as No. 1 in the world and victor of two major singles titles, at the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013.

Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka has continued her impressive run into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Czech Barbora Strycova.

“I don’t think I’ve had any number close to 100”, he said.

Down two breaks in the second, Kerber looked on course for a dramatic final set, the likes of which we saw at last year’s US Open. “I didn’t push myself into making a difference”. I’m just happy I went through.

Wawrinka, the reigning French Open champion, was the only man to beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam match a year ago – the final at Roland Garros – and the last man to beat him at Melbourne Park after 2010.

Despite being seeded six places higher than Azarenka, Kerber was most certainly the underdog heading into Wednesday’s encounter on Rod Laver Arena, but the 28-year-old threw the form book out the window to book her spot in the final four.

Azarenka’s resurgence in 2016 showed no sign of abating as she eased past Strycova.

Raonic, who earlier spoke of his grief over a high school shooting in his home country, eliminated the Swiss world number four 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3 and will face Monfils in the quarters.

“She played quite explosive”, Sharapova said.

Johanna Konta of Britain hits a forehand return to Zhang Shuai of China during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016.

But the German was all business when it counted, saving multiple set points and winning five straight games to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2012, and her first Down Under. Twenty-seven of their total 150 points were nine shots or more, two thirds of those won by the more patient Kerber, who waited for her openings.

Watch highlights as twice champion Victoria Azarenka beats Barbora Strycova 6-2 6-4 in their match at the Australian Open.

Johanna Konta beat Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals at the Australian Open, becoming the first British woman to advance the last four of a Grand Slam event since 1983. I felt a little bit my legs at the end because I was running a lot. “Mentally, emotionally and physically I left it all out there on the court”. She didn’t hit with a ton of pace, but her placement was consistently bothersome to her opponent; she kept the ball deep, made good use of angles, and pounced all over Azarenka’s slow-rolling second serves.

She won the Brisbane International leading into the first major of the season, and dropped only five games in her first three rounds at Melbourne Park.

“To be honest, I’m just taking it a match at a time and, really, a point at a time”, Konta said in her on-court interview. “Let me achieve them first and then I’ll talk to you about it”.