Kiwi qualifier shocks Azarenka at Stanford WTA event
Date published :
29 Jul 2011 - 01:00:06
New Zealand qualifier Marina Erakovic shocked top seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the $721,000 WTA Stanford tournament.
Erakovic, ranked 121st in the world, notched her first victory over a top-20 opponent and reached her second quarter-final of the season.
She has won 24 of her last 28 matches.
Azarenka, ranked fourth in the world, arrived in Stanford for this hardcourt US Open tuneup off a semi-final appearance at Wimbledon.
She had enjoyed the first-round bye given to the top four seeds.
Erakovic next faces eighth-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.
In other matches, 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams faced Russian Maria Kirilenko for a place in the quarter-finals.
Williams is unseeded as she tries to rebuild her world ranking, which has tumbled in the wake of an 11-month injury and illness layoff.
The winner of that match will face second-seeded Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals.
Fourth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur was due to open her campaign with a second-round clash with Germany's Sabine Lisicki.
Japan's Ayumui Morita booked a quarter-final berth against French third seed Marion Bartoli. Morita defeated qualifier Urszula Radwanska of Poland 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
