Naomi Osaka will have to come from behind if she is to reach the Auckland semis.
American Hailey Baptiste won the first set against the seventh seed in a tie-breaker (7-2).
The winner will play either Alycia Parks or Katie Volynets in the last four.
For a moment there, Anhelina Kalinina had the edge over Kim Birrell.
The Ukrainian broke the Aussie to be up a game – but Birrell held her nerve.
And not only did Birrell keep herself in the set, she got the upper hand.
Now, the wildcard is winning. She’s up 5-4 and is serving for the set.
It’s fairly even on Pat Rafter Arena with Anhelina Kalinina leading Aussie Kim Birrell 3-2 in the opening set.
But Birrell is holding her position well and applying pressure to the Ukrainian.
And, she’s now on serve.
An upset in Canberra!
Top seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz is out of the tournament after going down to Aoi Ito.
Ito, seeded seventh, triumphed 6-2, 6-2.
She will play either China’s Wei Sijia or Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the final.
They stole the hearts of the Melbourne Park crowds when they lifted the men’s doubles trophy at the 2023 Australian Open.
Now, Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler are building their way into form at the Brisbane International.
The Aussie duo is on court against American Olympic silver medallists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the quarterfinals.
It’s 2-2 in the first set.
Kim Birrell smiled to the crowd as she walked in to a packed Pat Rafter Arena.
In just the first week of the year, the Aussie could make her first WTA semifinal.
But standing in her way is Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, the world No. 56, in this quarterfinal.
Birrell has won her last two matches in straight sets. Let’s see what she can do here today.
G’day Natty, and a big welcome to all our readers!
The first semifinal is underway in the national capital, with seventh seed Aoi Ito enjoying the early running against Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain.
Japan’s Ito won the first set 6-2 against the tournament’s top seed.
Games are on serve in the second.
Australia’s own Kim Birrell has had a flying start to her season of tennis, rocketing into the Brisbane International quarterfinals after beating the number-two-seed Emma Navarro and world number 35 Anastasia Potapova, both in straight sets.
These victories propelled her into the top 100 in the live rankings for the first time, sneaking in at 99. That’s 14 extra points than she had to start the tournament.
But she has a big challenge ahead of her today. She’ll face Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina, world No. 56 and a previous top 30 contender.
That’s set for a midday start.
Much of our attention will be on Kimberly Birrell’s quarterfinal in Brisbane, but we’ll also keep you updated on what’s happening in Auckland and Canberra.
Naomi Osaka is on court at the moment across the Tasman.
The two-time Australian Open champion, seeded seventh in Auckland, is playing Hailey Baptiste of the US in the quarterfinals.
Games are on serve in the first set at 2-2.
Earlier, Robin Montgomery defeated fellow American Bernarda Pera 6-4, 6-4 in their quarterfinal.
G’day and welcome to ABC Sport’s digital coverage of the summer of tennis as we continue the build-up to the Australian Open.
A massive day and evening ahead on the courts in both Australia and New Zealand.
Here’s what we’ll be covering:
We’re not far away from Kimberly Birrell’s clash with Anhelina Kalinina in the Brisbane International quarterfinals.
The Aussie’s run to the last eight has been one of the stories of the tournament and Marnie Vinall will be keeping you across the action.
We hope you can join us!
