Williams withdraws from semifinals in Australian Open tuneup

Barty enters the final on a walkover; Halep crashes out

Serena Williams pulled out of a semifinal clash against World No.1 Ashleigh Barty with a shoulder injury on Friday, days before the Australian Open, in the Yarra Valley Classic while Simona Halep and Sofia Kenin both crashed to defeat.

Stan Wawrinka pulled out of his quarterfinal match against Jeremy Chardy due to fatigue in the Murray River Open.

 

The results: WTA Yarra Valley Classic: Semifinal: Ashleigh Barty w/o Serena Williams. Quarterfinals: Barty bt Shelby Rogers 7-5, 2-6, 10-4; Garbine Muguruza bt Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-2; Serena bt Danielle Collins 6-2, 4-6, 10-6; Markata Vondrousova bt Nadia Podoroska 4-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Gippsland Trophy: Quarterfinals: Ekaterina Alexandrova bt Simona Halep 6-2, 6-1; Kaia Kanepi bt Karolina Muchova retd.; Naomi Osaka bt Irina Begu 7-5, 6-1; Elise Mertens bt Elina Svitolina 6-3, 5-7, 10-6.

Grampians Trophy: Second round: Maria Sakkari bt Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-2; Angelique Kerber bt Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4; Victoria Azarenka bt Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 1-6, 11-9; Barbora Krejcikova bt Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-2, 10-6; Sorana Cirstea bt Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-2.

ATP Murray River Open: Quarterfinals: Jeremy Chardy w/o Stan Wawrinka; Daniel Evans bt Borna Coric 7-5, 7-6(1); Felix Auger-Aliassime bt Jiri Vesely 7-6(3), 0-0 retd.; Corentin Moutet bt Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-2.

Great Ocean Road Open: Quarterfinals: Thiago Monteiro bt Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-4; Stefano Travaglia bt Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-5; Jannik Sinner bt Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(10), 6-4; Karen Khachanov bt Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3.