Stosur joins Gavilova in Madrid quarters

Samantha Stosur and Daria Gavrilova have continued their promising French Open build-ups by powering into the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.

Stosur triumphed in a gruelling third-round clash with Carla Suarez Navarro after Daria Gavrilova shocked defending champion Petra Kvitova for the second time this year.

Stosur fought back from a set down to beat the Spanish world No.11 4-6 6-2 6-3 in a match lasting just under two hours.

The former Roland Garros runner-up next plays Romanian Patricia Tig, who upset American Madison Keys 6-3 6-4.

Gavrilova will face American Louisa Chirico in the last eight after stunning Kvitova, the world No.6 and two-time Wimbledon champion, 6-3 6-4 earlier on Wednesday.

Gavrilova, who also beat Kvitova at the Australian Open, has a golden opportunity to extend her run in the Spanish capital following the withdrawal of fourth seed Victoria Azarenka.

Azarenka pulled out ahead of her third-round match against Chirico, complaining of a back injury.

“Unfortunately, in my first match I think I tweaked my back a little bit,” Azarenka told reporters on Wednesday.

“The second match, obviously I was in a lot of discomfort. Having a day off I thought it was going to get better. Today before my warm-up it did feel better, but once I started hitting it came back.”

The 26-year-old Belarusian, a two-time Australian Open winner, had been the highest seed left in the women’s draw after Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza all lost.

Qualifier Chirico, at 19, is the youngest player left in the tournament.

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