Azarenka’s Australian run ends in QF loss

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus walks off the court after her quarterfinal loss to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. AP

MELBOURNE, Australia— Victoria Azarenka’s 18-match winning streak at the Australian Open ended in an upset 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 quarterfinal loss to Agnieszka Radwanska on Wednesday to continue the flow of stars tumbling out of the season’s first major.

Fifth-seeded Radwanska ended a streak of three consecutive quarterfinal defeats at the Australian Open with a stunning display of versatile shot-making that confused the big-hitting defending champion.

She next plays No. 20 Dominika Cibulkova, who won the last eight games in a one-hour, 6-3, 6-0 quarterfinal rout of No. 11-seeded Simona Halep. Azarenka’s loss followed the fourth-round exits of top-ranked Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova and leaves 2011 French Open champion Li Na as the only major winner remaining in the women’s draw.

Li will play 19-year-old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the other semifinal.