Azarenka latest victim of champion-toppling Yastremska

Dayana Yastremska has reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 7-6(6) 6-4 upset over 18th seed Victoria Azarenka.

By dispatching the two-time AO champion, the Ukrainian has become the second qualifier in the Open Era to defeat two former Grand Slam champions at a major since Jelena Dokic upset Martina Hingis and Mary Pierce at Wimbledon in 1999.

Before taking out Azarenka, Yastremska blasted past reigning Wimbledon champion and seventh seed Marketa Vondrousova, and 27th seed Emma Navarro.

Her spellbinding performance on Monday should erase any negative memories the Ukrainian has of Rod Laver Arena, where she won only three games against Serena Williams in 2019 during her only previous outing at Melbourne Park’s biggest stage.

The 23-year-old produced 38 winners, many courtesy of her blistering groundstrokes, more than double Azarenka's 16.

In the final eight, Yastremska will do battle against another AO quarterfinal debutante: Linda Noskova. The Czech progressed after 19th seed Elina Svitolina was forced to retire three games into their match after sustaining an injury.

More to come...