Kerber Upsets Azarenka To Reach Australian Open Semifinals
Victoria Azarenka entered her quarterfinal matchup with Angelique Kerber as one of the hottest players on the tour having not even dropped a set in 2016. But the left-handed German came out on fire and never looked back, stunning the two-time champion 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third Grand Slam semifinal of her career.
Kerber, the seventh-seed, raced out to a double break advantage and a 4-0 lead in the opening set, before eventually wrapping it up 6-3 in 48 minutes.
The 14th seed Azarenka looked to be on her way to forcing a third set, taking a commanding 5-2 advantage in the second set. On serve, Azarenka built a 40-0 lead, but a few errors from Azarenka including a double-fault allowed Kerber to earn one of those breaks back.
Following the break, Kerber won the next four games to stun Azarenka and close out the match in one hour and 45 minutes to snap her six-match losing streak to Azarenka.
“I was more aggressive when it was 2-5, but I was just telling myself to forget the score and just go for it and try to play the best I can play. I wasn’t thinking too much about the score,” said Kerber. “At the end, when I had match point, I had it a little bit more in my mind, but it’s just an amazing feeling to be here in the semifinals for the first time.”
Playing in her first Australian Open semifinal, Kerber will take on Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, who beat Chinese qualifier Shuai Zhang 6-4, 6-1 to reach the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career.
Konta was in control of this match from the start, opening up a 5-2 first set advantage before closing it 6-4. And in the second set, she fired 12 winners and broke Zhang four times to close the match out and book her spot in the semifinals.
“I’m very proud with how I was able to just keep focus and just keep going,” said Konta. “I didn’t feel I did much wrong. She definitely raised her level and made me work for it. It was a great battle to be a part of.”
This will be the first ever meeting between Konta and Kerber. The winner of this match will face off the winner of defending champion Serena Williams and fourth-seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
