Qualifier Kirsten Flipkens has defeated No.6 seed Aleksandra Wozniak at the Moorilla Hobart International today.
Flipkens, the world No.80, has won five matches on her path to the quarterfinals, including a straight sets win over the tournament’s defending champion Petra Kvitova in the final round of qualifying.
The Belgian is looking to secure her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament title at the Moorilla Hobart International and will meet Sara Errani in the next round.
“I was hoping to have like two or three matches going into the Australian Open but I’m already having five right now so yeah I’m really satisfied to be in the quarterfinals,” Flipkens said.
“I’m seeing it match by match, today I was the underdog and she was sixth seeded so it’s really good for my confidence.
“Everyday is changing, it’s windy, it’s cloudy, some rain, sunshine, everything … all the conditions are different but I’m handling it pretty good,” Flipkens continued.
Australian Alicia Molik put up a good fight against fifth seed Carla Suarez Navarro but wasn’t able to secure the match.
Suarez Navarro, the world No.33, controlled the important points in the final set winning 7-6(3) 3-6 6-3.
The Spaniard will meet the winner of tonight’s match between Jelena Dokic and second seed Shahar Peer in the quarterfinals.
Molik was disappointed with the loss but happy with her progress leading into the Australian Open.
“It’s probably the best preparation I could ask for. I did the right thing for two hours, it was only probably five or six minutes at the end of the match that I didn’t quite do the right thing, so that’s a pretty good sign,” Molik said.
“I feel like I should have won, that’s the mentality I went into the match with … but
I’m not too disappointed because I can’t be.”
In the final match of the day session, Sara Errani defeated Kateryna Bondarenko in straight sets, 7-6(8) 6-4.