Two former World No. 1 players moved into the Grampians Cup finals on Friday, but took very different paths to the eight elite.
In her first game of the season, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus had to survive a close-knit battle, as No.3 seeds came back from deficiencies in the opening set and tie-up. beauty, saving two maids points to get over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 6-4, 1-6, [11-9].
Her high-profile teammate Angelique Kerber from Germany had an easier time as No.8 seeded past Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, 6-4, 6-4.
Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, was trailing 0-4 in the first set before scoring six straight games to turn off the opener from Putintseva. The Kazakh turned the tilt around, going through the second set and building a 5-1 lead in the tie game.
Azarenka made the connection closer but Putintseva still reached a double game level at 9-7. Azarenka saved both, second with a superlative volley, leading to a change of boundaries at 9-9. All told, Azarenka grabbed the final four points of the tie to win the victory after an hour and 43 minutes of play.
Azarenka will now face No.6 seed Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals, after the Estonian stopped Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the United States, 7-5, 7-5.
Kerber, meanwhile, emerged victorious after an hour and 19 minutes, in a battle between the top 30 players. Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion, picked up an early break in the first set that never put her back, and then held on to the second set, finishing the game with a love service grip.
“This, for me, I think, is a good sign that I can find my rhythm a bit, and have another match tomorrow,” Kerber said, after winning.
Kerber will now take No.5 Maria Sakkari seed from Greece in the semifinals.
“I think it’s good to have another game against a good foe,” Kerber said. “It’s going to be another great game where I get to test and play high-level tennis.”
Sakkari secured a complete win over Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 6-2.
“My performance really impressed me, because I didn’t expect to play so well,” said Sakkari, after winning. “I’m happy with the way I’ve played, and it’s good to have a few games ahead of time [Australian] Open. “
Azarenka vs Kontaveit and Kerber vs Sakkari are quarterfinal matchups in the top half of the draw.
In the bottom half of the draw, the top player in the field was shocked, as Romania’s Sorana Cirstea thrashed Swiss No.2 seed Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 6-2.
Cirstea turned five of her nine break points to oust Bencic, who was a player with the highest seed in the draw after pulling back top seed Bianca Andreescu.
Cirstea will meet American Ann Li of the United States in the eight elite, after Li upset herself. Li, who is 99th in the world, topped World No.36 Veronika Kudermetova of Russia, 7-5, 6-3.
Kudermetova made the final round of the season-opening opening event in Abu Dhabi but was unable to progress past 20-year-old Li in Melbourne.
Seeds No.7 Jennifer Brady from the United States and Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic will face off in the next fourth quarter at the bottom. Brady defeated Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4, while Krejickova defeated No.4 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 4-6, 6-2, [10-6].