Big-hitter Vandeweghe stuns Kerber 6-2 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena
Sunday 22 January 2017 15:17, UK
CoCo Vandeweghe shocked world No 1 Angelique Kerber on a day of monumental upsets, while Venus Williams set up a quarter-final showdown against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Australian Open on Sunday.
Kerber's exit followed that of men's top seed and world No 1 Andy Murray, who lost to Mischa Zverev earlier in the evening on the same court.
Defending champion Kerber had no answers to the big-hitting American who powered past her 6-2 6-3 to make the quarter-finals in one of the biggest wins of her career.
The 25-year-old New Yorker claimed a place in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time, blasting six aces and 30 winners to overpower Kerber.
Vandeweghe, who had never been past the third round at the season-opening Grand Slam, and lost in the first round in Melbourne last year, will take on French Open champion Garbine Muguruza next after the Spaniard reached the last eight for the first time, beating Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-3.
"It was really special," Vandeweghe said. "Beating the world number one on any stage and any place is great... I'll take this one.
"I wasn't feeling confident, I guess I faked it. I was nervous, but I had a game plan to execute and I knew that as along as I keep picking my spots, I had a chance."
Earlier, Williams, 36, recorded a 6-3 7-5 victory over Germany's Mona Barthel in the fourth round to return to the last eight for the ninth time in Melbourne where she reached the same round on her debut in 1998.
Williams, a seven-time major winner, raced out to a 3-0 lead but No 181-ranked Barthel fought back with the American having trouble with her ball toss in the sun.
Barthel broke twice to give her the opportunity at 4-3 to get back on serve but Williams capitalised on the German also having trouble with the sun to break back then served out from the Yarra River end to clinch the first set in 42 minutes.
The second set went on serve until the 11th game when Williams broke for the first time in the set, then, clinched victory in 96 minutes.
Williams pulled out of a tournament in Auckland and withdrew from the doubles before the first round at the Australian Open because of an elbow problem, but insists it's all about winning matches.
"It was just not ideal to start the year like this, and it was a ton of anxiety, to be honest," Williams said of her preparation. "But really, at the end of the day, it's about walking to the net, shaking hands as the winner.
"This is where you want to be ... but this is not the end-all for me. This is not the end goal."
Pavlyuchenkova sealed a 6-3 6-3 win over fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova to put the 25-year-old into the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time in nine attempts.
The 2006 girls champion said: "It's super-exciting. I was always wondering why I could never have a good start here in Australia after good pre-season, good off-season, and a lot of practising.
"But now it seems like I found a way, and I'm super-excited to still be in the second week here."
Defeat was bitter for 31-year-old Kuznetsova, who was targeting her first Grand Slam quarter-final since the French Open in 2014 and her first major title since Roland Garros in 2009.
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