Azarenka rallies to beat Cibulkova

Key Biscayne, FL – Victoria Azarenka stood in disbelief as the forehand winner sailed past her at the net.

The shot, much like the upset it looked like she was about to endure, came seemingly out of nowhere off the racquet of Dominika Cibulkova.

Then, as fast as she dug herself into a hole, Azarenka climbed out of it to avoid her first loss of the season.

Azarenka, the defending champion and world No. 1, rallied to beat Cibulkova in the fourth round of the $4.828 million Sony Ericsson Open on Monday.

Cibulkova, riding a wave of winners like the forehand she fired down the line in the third game of the second set, was leading 6-1, 5-1 before Azarenka won five games in a row to flip the match in her favor.

It took nearly three hours, but Azarenka walked away a 1-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 winner to set up a meeting with France's Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals.

Azarenka, the reigning Australian Open champion, improved to 26-0 this year after her toughest test by far. She had dropped just five sets all season entering the match and quickly lost her sixth to Cibulkova, who had only beaten Azarenka once in seven previous meetings but looked well on the way to an upset.

But Azarenka rallied, winning five straight games to take a 6-5 lead in the second set. After Cibulkova held serve for 6-6, Azarenka won two straight points to capture the tiebreaker, then rode four double-faults by her opponent in the third set to victory.

Cibulkova, ranked No. 18 in the world and seeded 16th in the tournament, shook hands with Azarenka, the two-time champion, and quickly walked off the court when the match was over.

Earlier, five-time Sony winner Serena Williams and three-time runner-up Maria Sharapova, who lost to Azarenka in last year's final, were also fourth-round winners.

Williams, seeded 10th, exacted some revenge on Samantha Stosur by handling the sixth-seeded Aussie 7-5, 6-3. Stosur had stunned the powerful American in last year's U.S. Open finale.

Williams assumed control in the second set by breaking Stosur for a 4-2 lead, then closed out the match three games later by holding her serve. The 30-year- old Williams uncorked 20 aces en route to victory.

Meanwhile, the second-seeded Sharapova snuck past fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) at Crandon Park. The three-time Grand Slam champ moved on despite piling up 11 double faults.

In addition to last year's Sony loss, Sharapova was also this year's Aussie Open runner-up to Azarenka.

Next up for Sharapova will be eighth-seeded French Open champion Li Na, who landed a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 12th-seeded German Sabine Lisicki.

Fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was also a winner Monday, topping 23rd-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belarus 7-6 (8-6), 6-0.

Venus Williams, the three-time champion, was set to face Ana Ivanovic in the nightcap. Williams is playing her first tournament after missing sixth months because of Sjogren's syndrome, an auto-immune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain

Fifth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska rolled past Spanish wild card Garbine Muguruza Blanco 6-3, 6-2, while the seventh-seeded Bartoli pasted 22nd-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-2 in 66 minutes. The former Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli fired seven aces and broke Kirilenko six times.

This week's winner will collect $712,000.