Keys enters Brisbane last 8, second seed Martic stunned in Auckland

Eighth seed Madison Keys led a trio of Americans through to the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International with an impressive win over Australia’s Samantha Stosur on Wednesday.

Keys beat the former US Open champion 7-5, 6-3 to reach the last eight, her best result at the Brisbane International in four attempts.

She will play fellow American Danielle Collins in the quarters after Collins thrashed Kazakh qualifier Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-0 to continue her blistering start to the season.

Collins demolished world number five Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-1 in the first round and has lost only three games in two matches, spending just 114 minutes on court over two rounds.

“It’s going to be tough,” Keys said of her quarter-final opponent.

“She’s playing incredibly well and really ripping and going for shots and she’s making pretty much all of them right now.”

The third American through on a day when only three singles matches were played was Alison Riske, who downed Czech Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-4.

Riske will take on either second seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic or Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the quarter-finals.

Pliskova and top seed and world number one Ash Barty, who had opening round byes, play their first matches on Thursday.

Elsewhere at the WTA Auckland Classic, second-seed Petra Martic became the first big-name casualty when she was bundled out by France’s Alize Cornet in a three-set marathon on Wednesday.

Eighth seed Caroline Garcia also lost her second-round match while third seed Amanda Anisimova cruised through to the quarter-finals on a limited day three of the tournament.

Martic, the world number 15, lived up to her senior status in the first set against Cornet but could not maintain the momentum as her opponent fought back to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, sealing the outcome with three aces back-to-back in the final game.

“What a match,” said Cornet, who is ranked 57th, as she left the court.

Cornet switched coaches to Martic’s former mentor Sandra Zanieswka during the off-season and said she initially had trouble adjusting to her new pre-match instruction to be aggressive.

Cornet will meet Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals after the American had a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 second-round win over Tamara Zidansek.

The 18-year-old Anisimova needed only 73 minutes to put away former top-10 player Daria Kasatkina in the featured singles match in the night session.

She will play Eugenie Bouchard in the quarter-finals after the Canadian upset Garcia 6-4, 6-4.

Both are former top-five stars looking to get their way back into the top echelon with Bouchard, the 2014 Wimbledon finalist, now as low as 262 in the World while Garcia is ranked 46th.

Bouchard lost in the first round at 12 consecutive tournaments last year, but said she is feeling more confident now having put extra emphasis on her fitness.

Meanwhile, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza won consecutive matches for the first time since last year’s French Open and plays Zarina Diyas in the Shenzhen Open quarter-finals on Thursday.

The former world number one from Spain beat Shelby Rogers of the United States 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) to avoid becoming the latest big-name casualty in southern China.

Top seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka both lost on Tuesday, dealing a setback to their preparations for the Australian Open.

Kazakhstan’s Diyas, 75th in the world, booked her place in the last eight with a three-set victory over Russia’s Anna Blinkova.

Agence France-Presse