After seeing Dominika Cibulkova and Jarmila Gajdosova go three sets during my lunch break, I assumed the final second round match in Sydney between Angelique Kerber and Daria Gavrilova would be postponed and played out on Wednesday………. I was stunned to see the finished scoreline! Kerber is just one of two seeds left in the draw with Petra Kvitova also surviving the cull.

1. Angelique Kerber v Garbine Muguruza (Sydney, QF)

Angelique Kerber didn’t finish her second round match until 3.10am Sydney local time after a late start and a marathon match with Daria Gavrilova.  I’m still catching up so once again, thanks to Twitter for filling me in on what happened!

This sounded like a really spirited effort from Gavrilova, who has started the year in superb form.  In the first round, she thrashed Belinda Bencic in straight sets.  Playing all those matches during the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff has really helped her settle in some big matches.  This was a great win for Kerber, who has needed three sets in both her matches in Sydney.  She showed vulnerability in Brisbane, but this was a gutsy effort.

Kerber now faces a tough turnaround as she plays her quarter-final match against Garbine Muguruza, 4th match on Grandstand, which starts play at 3.30pm.  Muguruza, who is playing her first tournament of the year, has started the year well with victories over Sara Errani and Agnieszka Radwanska.  Her win over Aga, 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2  was very impressive as she powered her way through the decider with some lethal groundstrokes.  I stand by my prediction that Muguruza will crack the top ten this year, but I am surprised she won this match.  It appeared that her ankle injury (that stopped her playing in Brisbane) flared up again in this match and it was a surprise to see that Radwanska didn’t try and make her move more.

Both players won’t be at 100% going into this quarter-final.  Kerber leads the head-to-head 2-0 with straight set wins in Indian Wells (2013) and Stanford (2014).  I’d probably give the edge to Muguruza after two long matches for Kerber.  Muguruza has the ability to hit through the court and frustrate Kerber and it would be a really sensational effort if the German player can mount a challenge in this match.

Prediction: Muguruza d. Kerber in 2 tight sets

WTA Sydney Quarter-Final Prediction

Petra Kvitova d. Jarmila Gajdosova in 3 sets

Photo in this post by Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.  Make sure to check out Women’s Tennis Blog this week for photos from Hobart!