In the first half of Monday’s fourth-round action at Roland Garros, we got to know the third quarterfinal pair: Victoria Azarenka vs. Maria Kirilenko. On Sunday we received the first four quarterfinalists: Serena Williams vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Sara Errani.
Third seed Victoria Azarenka won nine straight games to take off from 3-3 and the tight first six games of the match to defeat the 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-0 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Azarenka is now in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros for the third time and will try to make the semifinals for the first time. Actually, this is the only Grand Slam that she hasn’t played the semifinals of.
Later on Court Suzanne Lenglen, seed No.12 Maria Kirilenko stopped the unseeded in-form Bethanie Mattek Sands, the upsetter of sixth seed and 2011 champion Li Na, despite trailing 4-1 in the beginning. The Russian is now into her first Roland Garros quarterfinal.
Azarenka and Kirilenko have never faced each other on clay. Azarenka leads their record 3-2, having beaten Kirilenko in their last three meetings.
