Kimberly Birrell's fairytale run at the Brisbane International continues as she surged into her maiden WTA 500 quarterfinal after prevailing against world No. 35 Anastasia Potapova 7-6(2) 6-2.
The victory added to a scintillating start to 2025 for the 26-year-old, who defeated world No.8 Emma Navarro on Wednesday for her first top-10 win since she downed then-No.10 Daria Kasatkina at the 2019 Brisbane International.
"I'm speechless, truly. It is so special to play here. To play so well and all of you guys behind me means just the world. I hope to keep going, make you guys proud," said Birrell.
It's been a long road. I have had a few injuries but, you know, as does everyone who plays professional sport, and everyone has their trials and tribulations in life," she said.
I have been super lucky just to have such an incredible family and team behind me, and they believed in me when I didn't even think I was going to get back on court. They encouraged me, and they're pretty much the only reason why I am back playing at this level today," Birrell added.
Birrell has an opportunity to continue her Brisbane run when she plays either Anhelina Kalinina or Yuan Yue on Friday, both of whom are unseeded players.
In men's doubles, James Duckworth and Aleksandar Vukic caused a major upset as they defeated the second seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. The Aussie pair came back from losing the opening set tiebreak to win the match 6-7(6) 6-4 (10-8).
Read also| Cummins Set to Miss Sri Lanka Tests for Birth of Second Child
Read also| Kapil Dev Consoles an Emotional Vinod Kambli: 'We Will Meet When You Get Better'
