Kim Birrell’s time at the Brisbane International has come to an end as the Australian star fell short to Anhelina Kalinina in a thrilling quarter final.

Reaching the quarters for the first time in her WTA-level career, Birrell brushed aside a second set thrashing to fight her way back into contention.

With over 50 spots separating the pair in the rankings, the 26-year-old Australian could not hold off the power of her rival, falling 6-5, 1-6, 7-5.

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Birrell’s efforts at the tournament have seen her lift into the top 100 of the rankings.

It took over two hours and 30 minutes to find a winner between Birrell and Kalinina, with match point within reach for the Australian twice.

“She is such a fighter,” Abigail Johnson said on Nine.

“In the most high point situations, match point come and gone, that she can come out like this. Brisbane’s Cinderella might be dancing again.”

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But Kalinina, ranked 55th in the world, was not giving up her opportunity to compete for the title easily.

Birrell was on match point when the Ukrainian found an opportunity to break the point and turn the game on its head.

Fatigue struck both players late in the third set as Kalinina managed to find a different level of energy to her rival.

Asked about the difficulty of the match, Kalinina admitted the final moments were beginning to become a bit of a blur.

“I mean, I actually don’t remember the match point,” she said.

“Every point was really hard to get. I want to give credit to Kim because wow, what a match.”

Kalinina will face the winner of Ashlyn Krueger and Polina Kudermetova in the semi finals, but her preparations for the match will not differ to her usual routine.

“Normally when I arrive it is so hard for me to win any match,” Kalinina said.

“I didn’t expect to be in the semis. My coach will maybe watch [the other quarter final] and we will talk about it later. Whoever is in the semi final is already a very good and dangerous player. We will prepare in every way possible.”