Tennis

Azarenka eases into quarterfinals; Muguruza withdraws

Published Aug. 1, 2018 11:47 p.m. ET

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Victoria Azarenka, a former world No. 1, eased past lucky-loser Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-0 on Wednesday night in the second round of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic.

Azarenka broke the Russian teenager's serve six times to advance to face American qualifier Danielle Collins, a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 winner over Vera Lapko of Belarus.

Blinkova replaced Garbine Muguruza in the draw after the top-seeded Spaniard withdrew because of a right arm injury.

''I've been feeling some pain in my right arm for a couple of days and realized I am not ready to play the match, so hopefully I can recover for the next tournaments,'' Muguruza said in a statement.

Johanna Konta, the 2016 champion, followed her Tuesday upset of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over American teenager Sofia Kenin 6-1, 6-4. Konta will play No. 4 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium. Mertens topped American wild-card Ashley Kratzer 6-2, 6-0.

Get more from Tennis Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic