World No.3 Garbine Muguruza was sent packing from the Sydney Classic in the quarter-finals on Thursday by clinical Russian Daria Kasatkina, who continued her strong start to the season ahead of the Australian Open.
Muguruza had a first-round bye then had to battle hard to topple 40th-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova, before crashing to Kastakina 4-6, 4-6.
Meanwhile, in-form World No.7 Anett Kontaveit also made the Last-4 after Ons Jabeur, ranked three places below her, retired hurt.
The Estonian won a tight first set 6-4 before the Tunisian called for a medical timeout. After lengthy treatment on her lower back, Jabeur forfeited the match. It is a big setback for Jabeur, with the opening Grand Slam of the year starting on Monday.
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