World No. 1 Kerber beaten by Svitolina again
World No. 1 Angelique Kerber was knocked out of the Brisbane International by Elina Svitolina yesterday, while second seed Dominika Cibulkova also succumbed to a quarter-final upset.
Ukrainian sixth seed Svitolina prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in her slugfest with Kerber to set up a semi-final clash with Karolina Pliskova who beat Roberta Vinci 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
With Kerber struggling with her serve and rhythm, Svitolina claimed the first set, but the German staged a brilliant comeback in the second to force the decider.
Kerber seemed to have found her range in the third set, but Svitolina, who had stunned Kerber at the China Open last October, broke and then served for her second successive win over the top seed.
Earlier, an inspired Alize Cornet pulled off a 6-3, 7-5 upset win over Cibulkova to book a last-four battle with Garbine Muguruza, who dug deep to beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-4.
Meanwhile, in China, American world No. 39 Alison Riske stunned Polish top seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open yesterday.
Riske will face Italy's Camila Giorgi in today's semi-finals, while world No. 10 Johanna Konta will take on Katerina Siniakova for a place in the final. - WIRE SERVICES
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