Poland’s Agnieszka Radwansa battled to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 quarter final win to send the Belarusian home with the top three seeds now out of the Grand Slam – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova having been beaten earlier in the tournament.
Azarenka’s defeat was the end of an 18 match winning run at Melbourne Park dating back to 2012.
“She was getting to every ball,” Azarenka said. “She guessed so many of my shots and I felt like at one point I was being too predictable. She definitely took advantage of that.”
Azarenka’s exit came a day after Novak Djokovic lost to Stanislas Wawrinka, meaning both defending Australian Open champions were beaten in the quarter finals for the first time in the Open era.
Dominika Cibulkova awaits in the semi finals.
Image credit: Getty
