German Open: Azarenka, Samsonova, Muguruza win at grass-court tournament

Victoria Azarenka next faces either fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova or American Jessica Pegula in her first grass-court quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2015.

Belarus' Victoria Azarenka in action during her Round of 16 match.

Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals of the German Open by defeating home favourite Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday.

The seventh-seeded Azarenka was down 4-1 in the second set before beating the German for the 10th time in 11 matches.

Azarenka needed 1 hour, 22 minutes to prevail and next faces either the fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova or American Jessica Pegula in her first grass-court quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2015.

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Liudmila Samsonova upset Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Russian clash. The 22-year-old next faces Madison Keys of the United States, who upset the top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday.

Also on Thursday, Garbine Muguruza defeated Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-3 to ensure her progress. The Spaniard next faces Alize Cornet in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

Cornet upset the third-seeded Bianca Andreescu on Wednesday.