(January 22, 2017) Defending champion Angelique Kerber has joined fellow No. 1 seed Andy Murray as both top seeds lost on Sunday. Kerber lost to American American CoCo Vandeweghe 6-2, 6-3 in the night session at the Australian Open.
CoCo Vandeweghe
Vandeweghe moves into the quarterfinals against Garbine Muguruza, who beat Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-3. Murguruza won last year’s French Open.
“It’s really special to play a No. 1 player at any stage in any round,” Vandewege said in her on-court interview with Renee Stubbs. “I believe this is my first number one win, so I will take that.”
“It was a tough match, and of course I’m disappointed,” Kerber said. “But I was not feeling the ball at all tonight. I was not playing good from the first point.
“So, yeah, it was not my day and not my match, for sure.”
“I was trying tonight, as well, everything. But, yeah, I missed a lot and I make a lot of unforced errors. So this was not my game like I play normally.”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever beaten a world No. 1. And especially at a Grand Slam, I think it makes it that much sweeter,” Vandeweghe said.
?I just felt like I was really executing my game well, keeping her on the back foot, and just kind of playing within myself. So that’s what I felt was going on on the court.”
“We’re two totally opposite players. I would expect myself to have more winners as well as more unforced errors than she would have. So in that fact, I mean, that’s kind of an expected stat that I would have more than she would.
“I mean, what the number would end up being is kind of up to how well I’m hitting my spots and how well I’m playing out there against an opponent.”
“We’ve played a lot, a couple of times,” Muguruza said about playing the American in the quarterfinals. “It’s 1-1 head-to-head. She’s a tricky player. She has a lot of power, full shots, serve, everything. She can play very well.”
“It’s an interesting matchup because she holds a different aspect to a playing style of she’s an aggressor, as well,” Vandeweghe commented. “She is going to play that way, and no other way.”
“For me it depends on if I can match it, as well as if I can beat her to that punch of getting first strike, first play.”
With Kerber’s loss, should Serena Williams win the tournament, she would move back up to the No. 1 ranking.
Andy Murray lost to No. 50 Mischa Zverev in four sets earlier in the day.
No. 50 Mischa Zverev Beats No. 1 Andy Murray at Australian Open; Roger Federer Advances in Five Sets
Venus Williams, reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the second time in the last three years by beating qualifier Mona Barthel 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday in Melbourne.
The 36-year-old American, seeded 13th, the oldest player female singles player left in the draw, has not dropped a set entering the final eight.
“I was born to play tennis,” Williams said in her on-court interview. “I found my calling. I was meant to do this.”
This will be the 37th career major quarterfinal she has played.
“I was born to play this game…I was meant to do this.” @Venuseswilliams #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/1zpqPYrXCH
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 22, 2017
Williams will play 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who was the first player to reach quarterfinals defeated Russian countrywoman and 8th seeded two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-3 in 68 minutes.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova photo courtesy of Taste of Tennis
This will be the Russian’s first-ever Australian Open quarterfinal.
“It feels amazing,” she said. “I’m really happy with my first quarterfinal here in Australian Open.”
“I have a lot of memories, because I, yeah, won it twice in juniors and was showing some good tennis, as well, also in the pros, but never achieved something, like, big here.”
“I feel much fitter, as well. And again, I repeat like I’m enjoying a bit more, like I take it a bit differently now.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m showing some good tennis at the same time, as well, and so just trying to put everything in pieces.
“Yeah, but again, I’m not going, like, super excited about it. I just take match by match, and, you know, I want to do even better.”
“Today I played a qualifier, and she hardly ever missed,” Williams said. “So it doesn’t matter who you come up against, they are coming and they want to win, too. They have nothing to lose.
“I’m going to be focused on winning one round at a time and focus on doing what it takes to be there.”
“I know her game,” Williams said of her next opponent. “I have played a lot of matches this tournament kind of not knowing what to expect. That can be a little — it’s a whole different approach.
“Now I have played her. I know what to expect. So I can almost already be settled in before I get to that match. So it’s a good thing.”