The giant-killing spree continued at the Brisbane International on Thursday when world No.5 Angelique Kerber became the latest casualty.

The fourth-seeded German went down in straight sets 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3) in the quarter-final to Russian world No.36 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to ensure there will be at least one unseeded finalist at the season-opening tournament.

Kerber’s demise has ensured six of the top eight seeds at the Brisbane International have fallen.

Pavlyuchenkova – a Brisbane semi-finalist two years ago – set up a last-four clash with Ukrainian lucky loser Lesia Tsurenko.

Tsurenko, who replaced the injured world No.2 Maria Sharapova (collarbone), downed former world No.5 Daniela Hantuchova 6-3 6-4 in just over an hour-and-a-half.