German Open roundup: Azarenka, Samsonova, Muguruza all advance

BERLIN (AP) — Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals of the German Open by defeating home favorite Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday.

The seventh-seeded Azarenka was down 4-1 in the second set before beating the German for the 10th time in 11 matches.

Azarenka needed 1 hour, 22 minutes to prevail and next faces either the fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova or American Jessica Pegula in her first grass-court quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 2015.

Liudmila Samsonova upset Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 6-3 in an all-Russian clash. The 22-year-old next faces Madison Keys of the United States, who upset the top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday.

Also Thursday, Garbine Muguruza defeated Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-3 to ensure her progress. The Spaniard next faces Alize Cornet in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

Cornet upset the third-seeded Bianca Andreescu on Wednesday.

___

More AP Tennis: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports