Azarenka, Radwanska into quarters at Qatar Open
Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska reached the quarterfinals of Qatar Open.
Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka extended her unbeaten run in 2013 to 11 matches on Thursday, crushing Christine McHale of the United States 6-0, 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open.
Azarenka broke three times in each set on the back of her powerful forehand and dominant net play. She twice saved break points in the second set and closed it out when McHale served three of her five double faults in the last game.
Azarenka has been on a roll before, winning 26 straight matches to begin 2012, but she isn t looking too far ahead. After all, the Belarusian could lose her No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams later this week despite winning her second straight title at Rod Laver Arena last month.
Azarenka was joined in the last eight by Agnieszka Radwanska, former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur. Radwanska beat an error-prone Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 7-6 (6), Wozniacki downed Mona Barthel of Germany 7-6 (6), 6-3 and Stosur edged out Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5.
The fourth-ranked Radwanska made quick work of Ivanovic, the former No. 1 from Serbia, in the first set, breaking four times amid windy conditions. Ivanovic didn t help her own cause, committing 21 unforced errors and only landing 63 percent of first serves.
Wind also played havoc for Wozniacki and Barthel. The first set swung back and forth, but the Dane took control in the second set by breaking twice to lead 5-1.
"It wasn t great tennis out there today, the wind was a huge factor," Wozniacki said.
