Chinese Zheng Jie's best ever run at the Australian Open came to a halt on Monday after she had to retire from the fourth round match against Russia's eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova due to a left wrist injury.
Zheng, a semifinalist at the Wimbledon last year, fell to the ground while reaching to save a ball and injured her left wrist in the third game of the opening set. She called for a medical timeout and tried to fight back into competition but had to retire after two more games.
To reach the last 16 at the season's opening Grand Slam, Zheng has equalled the best result that former Chinese female number one Li Na achieved at the Melbourne Park two years ago.
Kuznetsova will face second seed Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, who also enjoyed a brisk workout after her opponent, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, retired due to injury.
Spanish Carla Suarez Navarro continued her giantkilling run at the Australian Open, reaching the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over 21st seed Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Suarez Navarro, a debutant at the Australian Open, ousted Venus Williams in the second round and had a much easier time in deposing of fellow Spaniard Medina Garrigues in 73 minutes.
The unseeded 20-year-old's appearance in the last eight will equal her previous best performance at a Grand Slam at the French Open last year.
Her reward will be a quarterfinal clash against Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, who breezed through Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2009)
