BRISBANE, Australia – Former Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka and Elena Rybakina stormed into the semi-finals of the season-opening Brisbane International on Friday, but in contrasting fashion.
Azarenka took 2hr 30min before finally outlasting third-seeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the first match on Pat Rafter Arena.
The Brisbane tournament is a warm-up for the Australian Open, which the 34-year-old Azarenka won in 2012 and 2013.
Kazakhstan’s Rybakina was then handed a spot in the last four when her Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova withdrew with a stomach problem after losing the first set 6-1.
Azarenka was in control early as she took the first set with one break of serve, but as the match progressed Ostapenko began to find her range and deservedly levelled.
Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, was comfortable on serve in the third set while Azarenka struggled to hold hers.
But at 5-6 and serving to send the set into a tiebreak, the Latvian cracked and a poor service game handed the Belarusian victory.
“I thought the quality of tennis was incredible,” Azarenka said. “She was blasting returns, blasting winners, so I had to stick in there.
“I was looking forward to seeing how my game was going to match up this year, and I think it’s pretty good.”
In another quarter-final, Rybakina raced to a 4-1 lead when Potapova asked for the trainer to treat what appeared to be a stomach injury.
She played the next two games but withdrew when the 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina took the first set.
Rybakina faces Mirra Andreeva or Linda Noskova next.
In the men’s draw, Russian Roman Safiullin beat Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to set up a semi-final against either top-seeded Dane Holger Rune or Australian qualifier James Duckworth.
Also, Rafael Nadal and Aryna Sabalenka reached the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Nadal continued his impressive return from a long injury layoff with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of wildcard Jason Kubler. Sabalenka defeated Zhu Lin 6-1, 6-0 and Rybakina stunned Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-0.
“Yeah, it’s been an amazing tournament for me,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “Of course I’m super happy with the level, with the win today. I feel I’m going to do really well here.”
“Every day is an adventure,” Nadal said according to AP. “I take every day like an opportunity.”
The 37-year-old Spaniard is playing on a wild card after his ranking slipped into the 600s as he recovered from hip surgery, and he’s desperate for match time ahead of the Australian Open this month.
Regaining the mental and muscle memory of navigating the difficult game scenarios is on his must-do list this week.
“It’s important to survive these kind of moments because you practice the adversity,” he said. “Something I need to practice again because (it’s) been a while, a long time, without being in that position.”
Nadal’s first competitive match since January last year was a win against 2020 US Open champion and former No. 3-ranked Dominic Thiem.
“It means a lot to me,” Nadal said, “and two victories after a long time being outside of the professional tour is something that, yeah, makes me feel good and happy.”
He was more convincing against Kubler, a hometown favourite who is ranked 63rd after a career interrupted by multiple operations on his knees.
Nadal had 20 winners, including some ripping forehands, and eight unforced errors. As well as his powerful ground strokes and dominant serve, he hit volleys, half-volleys and overheads. He scrambled to chase drop shots and covered the baseline without any visible signs of the injury.
He lost only one point in his first three service games – a double-fault on the second point of the match. But he was also able to dig himself out of a hole when he needed it at 5-1.
The only blip for Nadal was a warning for a time violation for taking too long in a locker-room break between sets. He shrugged it off, saying it was so humid he needed to change his clothing and he thought he was on time. He promised he’d work on changing faster.
Nadal said the hip was “not bothering me at all” and he’s not having any issues with his long-term foot problem.
Australian Open champion Sabalenka followed Nadal’s match in Pat Rafter Arena and she was even more dominant, beating Zhu Lin 6-1, 6-0.
The top-seeded Sabalenka has lost four games en route to her quarter-final against fifth-seeded Daria Kasatkina.
The two-time Australian Open champion – in 2012 and 2013 – will next face third-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion who beat big-serving three-time Brisbane International winner Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
