As the tournament begins to wind towards its final stages, the remainder of the semifinals were filled at Melbourne.

Kerber Upends Azarenka

Angelique Kerber met Victoria Azarenka in the first match in Rod Laver Arena. Playing focused and sharp tennis, the German would advance 6-3 7-5.

The seventh-seeded Kerber has been somewhat overlooked recently despite playing clean, high-quality tennis. As a reminder, she quickly gained an advantage against the 14th seed, logging two breaks of serve and sprinting out to a 4-0 lead. The Belarusian would finally get warmed up and gain one break back, but the hole was too deep and Kerber held on.

Playing with more of a sense of urgency in the second set, Azarenka would quickly break the Kerber serve. She would take advantage of a lull in her opponent’s game and build momentum of her own. After allowing Kerber to dictate play in the first set, Azarenka took control in the second. However, a late rally by the 28-year-old began to frustrate the Belarusian. And Kerber chipped away, fighting back to erase a two-break deficit. Then, with Azarenka serving to stay in the match at 5-6, the left-hander found a series of key shots and ended the match with a terrific running forehand at the feet of her opponent, whose reply found its way into the net. And after a set that appeared lost, it was Kerber defeating Azarenka for the first time in seven tries in her career.

Kerber will face Johanna Konta of Great Britain, who dominated Shuai Zhang of China, 6-4 6-1. It will be Konta’s first Grand Slam semifinal and the first career meeting between the two.

Murray Battles Past Ferrer

Two very different styles clashed in the first men’s quarterfinal as second-seeded Andy Murray met the scrappy veteran David Ferrer. It took four sets, but it was Murray on the winning end, 6-3 6-7 6-2 6-3.

As both players played to their strengths, it was Murray who found the first break of serve and turned around a game that appeared to be heading towards the Spaniard’s favor. A number of errors followed from Ferrer as a late push came up short, and the Brit took the first set.

A much more confident Ferrer struck first in the second set, jumping out to an early lead. A frustrated Murray would continue to fight back as the level of play on both sides rose. He would eventually even the set as both players struck some impressive winners and engaged in lengthy rallies. With neither player gaining an edge after that, the set went to a tiebreak. There, Ferrer would gain control by mixing variety with deep strikes and being relentless on defense. He found enough success to take the tiebreak and the set.

In the third set, it was Murray who found a break just before inclement weather set in. After a short break to close the roof, he picked up where he left off. As Ferrer suddenly looked out of rhythm, Murray stayed focused and rolled through the set.

With Ferrer not looking comfortable after the closure of the roof, Murray struck again early in the fourth set and broke serve. Just as it appeared the Brit was in a groove, Ferrer played an exceptional defensive game to earn his break back. But in a set with a number of ebbs and flows, Murray would rebound to gain another service break and close out the match. He moves into the semifinals on Thursday.