Victoria Azarenka of Belarus clinched victory over British number one Katie Boulter in the fourth round of the Miami Open. Boulter, ranked 30th in the world, succumbed to Azarenka’s prowess with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-1.
The two-time Grand Slam champion, aged 34, is now set to face Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, French 23rd seed Caroline Garcia caused an upset by defeating American world number three Coco Gauff, securing her spot in the last eight for the first time in Miami with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory.
After defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the previous round, Caroline Garcia is set to face either American Danielle Collins or Romania’s Sorana Cirstea for a shot at the semi-finals. In other matchups, Kazakhstan’s world number four Elena Rybakina secured a spot in the next round with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over American Madison Keys, lining up a showdown against Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari.
Sakkari advanced to the quarter-finals via a walkover as her Russian opponent Anna Kalinskaya withdrew. Katie Boulter’s journey to the fourth round marked her first at the tournament, achieved by defeating Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets.
Despite a resilient effort, Boulter couldn’t withstand Azarenka’s pressure as the former world number one clinched a tight first set. The second set saw Azarenka dominate, securing a 5-0 lead before Boulter managed to get on the board. Despite saving two match points, Boulter couldn’t stop Azarenka, whose next opponent Putintseva defeated Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in straight sets.
