Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus hugs her winner's trophy after defeating France's Marion Bartoli in the women's singles final at the Brisbane International tennis tournament January 10, 2009. Reuters/Tim Wimborne

Victoria Azarenka continued her strong start beating eighth seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets 6-1 6-2 to advance in the semifinals in Brisbane. Azarenka, who dropped seven games in her first two opening rounds, beat the Italian in one hour and 18 minutes on Thursday evening.

Azarenka will play American qualifier Samantha Crawford, who earlier beat Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-0. Speaking in an interview as quoted by the official site of women’s tennis, the Belarusian spoke about her upcoming first-time clash with Crawford. She said she needs to level up her game if she wants to have the chance to claim her second title in Brisbane.

“Nobody gets into the semifinals without playing well so I’ll need to rise to this challenge, it’s a new experience,” Azarenka said. “But, I’m just happy to be back in the semifinals and doing something I love.”

On the other side of the draw, Angelique Kerber defeated Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova 6-4 6-4 to book a meeting with Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Varvara Lepchenko 4-6 6-4 7-5. Suarez Navarro reached her career-high rank at the eighth spot in May last year but dropped to 13th in the world rankings at the end of the season. Following her quarterfinals match in Brisbane, the 27-year-old Spanish tennis star revealed her goals in 2016, which include breaking into the top five of the world rankings.

“I think I have the game to be there and enjoy the moment to be there,” Suarez Navarro told the reporters. “I know that being in the top five are big words, I know, but it’s my goal.”

Women’s singles - Quarterfinal results

Victoria Azarenka def. Roberta Vinci 6-1 6-2

Samantha Crawford def. Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-0

Angelique Kerber def. Anastasia Pavlyunchenkova 6-4 6-4

Carla Suarez Navarro def. Varvara Lepchenko 4-6 6-4 7-5

Day 6 Schedule (Jan. 8, 2016)

Angelique Kerber vs. Carla Suarez Navarro - Not before 3 p.m. on Pat Rafter Arena

Victoria Azarenka vs. Samantha Crawford - Not before 9 p.m. on Pat Rafter Arena

Visit Brisbaneinternational.com.au for more information.

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