STUTTGART, Germany, April 27 (UPI) -- Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova survived tough quarterfinal matches Friday at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Germany.
World No. 1 Azarenka needed nearly 3 hours to defeat home-crowd favorite Mona Barthel 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5. Azarenka lost her serve five times, including twice in the third set. However, she recorded three of her seven breaks in the decisive set to advance.