BRISBANE, Australia — After two injury-interrupted seasons, Victoria Azarenka is emerging from the shadows of some her highly-ranked rivals who have either withdrawn from Australian Open warmup events or lost in the early rounds.
The two-time Australian Open champion reached the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International — a tournament she won in 2009 — with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ysaline Bonaventure on Wednesday.
Bonaventure, a lucky loser from qualifying, was cast into the second round as a replacement for top-seeded Simona Halep, who had a bye before withdrawing from a scheduled second-round match with Azarenka because of an Achilles tendon problem.