BERLIN (AP) — Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals of the German Open by defeating home favorite Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday.
The seventh-seeded Azarenka was down 4-1 in the second set before beating the German for the 10th time in 11 matches.
Azarenka needed 1 hour, 22 minutes to prevail and next faces either the fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova or American Jessica Pegula in her first grass-court quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2015.
Liudmila Samsonova upset Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Russian clash. The 22-year-old next faces Madison Keys of the United States, who upset the top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday.
Also Thursday, Garbiñe Muguruza defeated Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-3 to ensure her progress. The Spaniard next faces Alizé Cornet in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.
Cornet upset the third-seeded Bianca Andreescu on Wednesday.
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