Australian Open 2013 results: Azarenka advances, Chardy upsets Seppi

The quarterfinals at the 2013 Australian Open are just about set, with Round 4 wrapping up Monday in Melbourne. Victoria Azarenka, the No. 1 seed on the women’s draw, had no trouble with Elena Vesnina of Russia, winning 6-1, 6-1, to start the day. On the men’s side, Jeremy Chardy defeated No. 21 Andreas Seppi of Italy in four sets to continue the impressive run by Frenchmen in this year’s tournament.

Azarenka’s match was over in less than an hour. She played her typical brand of efficient tennis, scoring on 78 percent of her first serves in play, while returning 59 percent of Vesnina’s first serves for points. Perhaps even more impressively, she scored on 92 percent of the time she was able to force Vesnina to second serve. Azarenka committed just 13 unforced errors in the match to 26 for her opponent.

There will be at least two Frenchmen in the quarterfinals, thanks to Chardy’s 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, win over Seppi. The match was very evenly played, with Chardy winning 133 of 243 total points. The difference in the match may have been break point opportunities, where Seppi went just 2-for-11 compared to 6-for-15 for Chardy. With the win, Chardy could face countryman Gilles Simon in the next round. Simon has an uphill battle against No. 3 Andy Murray later in the day. At least one more Frenchman will advance to the quarters from the match between No. 9 Richard Gasquet and No. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Rounding out Monday’s early matches, No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki was upset by Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, to start play at Rod Laver Arena. The former world No. 1 struggled mightily at the net. She converted just 42 percent of her net point opportunities, compared to 92 percent for Kuznetsova.