After taking out third seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, Maria Kirilenko upset fifth seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals, switching from Radwanska’s long rallies to Kvitova’s power game, thus recording two Top 10 victories in a single tournament for the first time in her career and making the biggest semifinal of her life.

The 13th-seeded Kirilenko initially took a 4-2 lead, before falling to Kvitova’s power and winners to trail 4-6 2-4. The Czech then lost her range and gave away the second set by hitting four straight double faults while serving to stay in it and in the third set Kirilenko came out on top to finally win 4-6 6-4 6-3, despite problems with her knee in the first set.

We will have an all-Russian Indian Wells semifinal, as second seed Maria Sharapova later advanced with a tight 7-6(6) 6-2 victory over sixth seed Sara Errani which featured a 82-minute first set. Playing her third tournament of the season, Sharapova is in her third 2013 semifinal. (source: WTA Tour, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Despite complaining that her ankle has been bothering her for a while, top seed Victoria Azarenka, unbeaten in 17 matches this season, remained on course in her title defense at the BNP Paribas Open by cruising into the last eight with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Urszula Radwanska, while Urszula's more successful sister Agnieszka Radwanska was the only upset of the day, as the third seed fell to seed No.13 Maria Kirilenko. After quickly losing the first set, Agnieszka fought back to win the second and go 3-1 up in the third, before Kirilenko won four straight games for a 5-3 lead and a 6-1 4-6 7-5 victory after a small slump.

Maria Sharapova won a close opening set against Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, before storming through the second in just 22 minutes for a 7-5 6-0 victory, Angelique Kerber defeated Garbine Muguruza 6-4 7-5, Petra Kvitova advanced with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 win over fellow Czech Klara Zakopalova, Sara Errani took out Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-2, Samantha Stosur was better than Mona Barthel 4-6 6-2 6-3 and Caroline Wozniacki beat Nadia Petrova 7-6(3) 6-3 in the fourth round.

Quarterfinal pairs: Victoria Azarenka [1] vs. Caroline Wozniacki [8], Angelique Kerber [4] vs. Samantha Stosur [7], Petra Kvitova [5] vs. Maria Kirilenko [13] and Sara Errani [6] vs. Maria Sharapova [2]. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Mona Barthel claimed her first Premier title at the Open GDF SUEZ in Paris, beating top seed Sara Errani in the final, while on the other side of the globe Maria Kirilenko celebrated her first title since 2008, surviving Sabine Lisicki in an epic PTT Pattaya Open final.

Unseeded at the tournament, Barthel eliminated fifth seed Roberta Vinci in the second round, third seed Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals, and in the last match the German was ahead in each set, but always struggled to close them out as Errani clawed back, from 3-5 to 5-5  in the first and from 2-5 to 5-5 in the second, before succumbing 7-5 7-6(4).

Barthel is projected to rise to a new career-high ranking of No.28. Here's what Errani said of her opponent, who hit 53 winners (50 unforced errors) to her 16 winners (18 unforced errors):

Mona serves so well, plays so well from the baseline and physically moves so well – I just couldn't beat her today.

In doubles, however, Errani had a reason to celebrate. As part of the No.1-seeded doubles team, with Roberta Vinci she routed No.2 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Liezel Huber in the final 6-1 6-1.

Meanwhile in Thailand, Maria Kirilenko improved on her last year's performance at the PTT Pattaya Open. Playing the 2012 final against Daniela Hantuchova, Kirilenko lost after three hours and 14 minutes, but this time, after multiple swings in the match, the second-seeded Kirilenko went all the way against fifth seed Sabine Lisicki for a 5-7 6-1 7-6(1) victory. Initially, Lisicki led 7-5 1-0, almost 7-5 2-0, before Kirilenko won 11 of the next 13 games and earned two match points, but Lisicki stole the momentum and won four straight games to lead again, 6-5 in the third set. Kirilenko then broke her at love and decisively won the tiebreak. Total match time: two hours and 37 minutes. (photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Don't they remind you of Shakira and Beyoncé in "Beautiful Liar"? Daniela Hantuchova and Maria Kirilenko stunningly pulled off a J Lo look, enjoying their time in glittery clothes away from the sweat of the gym and tennis courts. The photo was taken in Pattaya City, where Hantuchova, the 2011 and 2012 Pattaya champion, will start her pursuit of a hat-trick with the first-round encounter with Olga Puchkova tomorrow. In last year's final, Hantuchova defeated Kirilenko 6-7(7) 6-3 6-3.

Hantuchova shared the photo on Facebook, saying:

.. and this is how we would like to dress… which one u guys like better?

Here's hoping that Fabio Fognini and Alex Ovechkin won't accidentally switch them?

All the seeded players in action at the PTT Pattaya Open on Tuesday advanced in straight sets: Maria Kirilenko, Sorana Cirstea, Sabine Lisicki and Heather Watson. Top seed Ana Ivanovic was saved by the rain which transferred the match to Wednesday while her opponent Ayumi Morita was leading 6-3 5-7 2-1, after Ivanovic had recovered from the verge of defeat at 2-5 in the second set.

It's time for our traditional Grand Slam fashion overview! Unlike in previous years, we will start by looking at the less known brands that made an impact at the 2013 Australian Open and we'll leave the giants such as Nike and Adidas for the end of the article.

German Mona Barthel followed her Hobart run to the finals with a first-round 7-5 2-6 6-4 defeat to Ksenia Pervak at the Australian Open, but she left in style, wearing a gracious dress from Denise Cronwall's 2013 collection. Cronwall's designs are always feminine and romantic and even though this dress doesn't have the designer's signature lace and flower patterns, the wavy seam brings about the recognizable elegant feel.

Another young star Camila Giorgi also had a brief appearance at Melbourne Park, but as always she engraved her fashion mark with a colorful and cheerful outfit that perfectly complements her age and beauty.

Venus Williams is slowly spreading her line and is not the only one wearing her clothes on the tennis courts any more. World No.166, former No.25, Jarmila Gajdosova switched from Lacoste to EleVen and proudly sported the peach and white Oh&Oh tank and a matching skirt. Venus herself is working a dress with watercolor print and thin black contrast binding at the bust, waistline, and shoulders.

Compare Australian Open fashion from previous years:

• 2012
• 2011

Two more fashion switches at this Australian Open are Julia Goerges, who came to Fila from Nike, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who replaced Fila with Qiaodan. Goerges' Fila debut is all blue: the German was wearing separates from spring 2013 Center Court Collection. Notice that her manicure is perfectly blending with the outfit. Kuznetsova was also all blue, but a different shade of blue, wearing the dress of the Chinese manufacturer. Read more »