Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Italian Flavia Pennetta did not play the 2013 Australian Open due to a wrist injury. Fast forward a year, and she has advanced to the quarterfinals.
The 28th-seeded Pennetta upended No. 9 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 Sunday to make it to the round-of-8 in Melbourne. This is Pennetta's first quarterfinal appearance at the Aussie Open, but her second straight such showing in a Grand Slam tournament. Pennetta was ousted by Victoria Azarenka at the 2013 US Open semifinals.
Pennetta, who fired eight aces, will next face either fourth seed Li Na of China or 22nd-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
Since 1999, only one German player has advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals. That was Andrea Petkovic in 2011.
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