French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova is mounting a compelling case for a second grand slam title after brushing aside an injured Victoria Azarenka to move into the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Krejcikova gave two-time champion Azarenka short shrift with a 6-2 6-2 victory on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday to set up a meeting with American Madison Keys.
Azarenka received treatment to her neck and shoulder early in the second set and needed regular assistance from the trainer during changeovers.
Krejcikova had previously never done better than a second round showing at Melbourne Park but the Czech fourth seed is riding high after a break-out year in 2021.
As well as her Roland Garros title, Krejcikova made the fourth round at Wimbledon and quarter-finals at the US Open to add to her grand slam cache.
"It was really amazing because she's a champion here," Krejcikova, who hit 23 winners.
""I'm extremely happy I won - I was doing everything to get this win.
"It's actually for a dream like this to play on such a court and play a champion - wow, I'm in the quarter-finals."
A resurgent Keys also posted a dominant fourth-round upset win over world No.6 Paula Badosa.
Keys ran Badosa ragged in a 6-3 6-1 rout that vaulted the American into her eighth grand slam quarter-final - but first since the 2019 French Open.
A semi-finalist in Melbourne in 2015 and runner-up at the 2017 US Open, Keys had tumbled to 87th in the world before bursting back to form with a drought-breaking title triumph in Adelaide last weekend.
Seemingly free of the hamstring injury that dogged her 2021 season, the one-time world No.7 has continued her revival at the Open.
Keys barely gave Badosa a sniff.
Fresh off her own tournament success last week in Sydney last week, Badosa was also riding an eight-match winning streak.
But the Spaniard coughed up 10 double-faults under the constant strain of trying to keep pace with Keys' relentless power and precision with the match done in just one hour and nine minutes.
"I served really well and returned really well so I was able to dictate," Keys said.
"I knew I was going to have to take my chances and just got for it because I knew if I'd have give her an inch, she would take it."
