Victoria Azarenka followed up her win over the number 1 seed Paula Badosa in the Guadalajara Open with a battling win over American Madison Keys to eliminate the American from contention for the WTA Finals.
The two-time major winner earned a 6-4 6-7(4) 6-1 victory in two hours and 14 minutes.
Azarenka, after her win over Madison Keys, will now face another American Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open. It will be the first meeting between the 33-year-old Azarenka and the American 15 years her junior.
Gauff, who recently secured her qualification for the WTA Finals, eased past Martina Trevisan 6-0, 6-3.
Jessica Pegula continued her impressive run in the tournament with a 6-4 6-4 win over former US Open winner Bianca Andreescu. She will next face compatriot Sloane Stephens who made light work of France’s Caroline Garcia 7-6(6) 7-5 in their match.
Greece’s fourth seed Maria Sakkari kept alive her hopes of making the Finals by fighting back from a set down to beat American Danielle Collins 5-7 6-3 6-3.
Sakkari squandered a set point in the first set but managed to regain her footing against the hard-hitting Collins reeling off three straight games in the decider for the win.
Her match against Veronika Kudermetova will decide the final entrant in the WTA Finals after Aryna Sabalenka and Daria Kasatkina booked their places despite already crashing out of the tournament.
The lineup now includes Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina, Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia and Jessica Pegula.
