Australian Open Gallery: Eight Becomes Four
Published January 25, 2012 12:00
The quarterfinals began with Agnieszka Radwanska squaring off with good friend Victoria Azarenka.
Victoria Azarenka dropped the first set tie-break at love, but got back to work straight away.
Victoria Azarenka weathered the heat and rallied to defeat Agnieszka Radwanska, 67(0) 60 62.
Caroline Wozniacki was next up, taking on Kim Clijsters in the second quarterfinal of the day.
Caroline Wozniacki needed to defeat Kim Clijsters to keep her hopes of keeping World No.1 alive.
Kim Clijsters came out firing, building a 63 52 lead against reigning No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.
Kim Clijsters had a lot of trouble closing Caroline Wozniacki out, 63 52 turning into 63 66.
Kim Clijsters lifted her game right when she needed to to close the World No.1 out, 63 76(4).
Sara Errani had been one of the stories of the tournament, reaching her first Slam quarterfinal.
Sara Errani was a big underdog against Petra Kvitova. She was a dubious 0-24 versus the Top 10.
Petra Kvitova never looked comfortable against Sara Errani and her high topspin strokes however.
Sara Errani led 4-1 in the second set but couldn't hang on and ended up falling to Petra Kvitova.
Petra Kvitova advanced to the semifinals with a hard-fought 64 64 victory over Sara Errani.
On a hot Wednesday afternoon, Maria Sharapova battled to a 62 63 win over Ekaterina Makarova.
Maria Sharapova needed four match points to close it out but ended up on the winning end anyway.
