Julia Goerges will face an in-form Daniela Hantuchova in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

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Julia Goerges was spared a very challenging second round matchup against Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday, as the world No. 1 was forced to pull out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with an ankle injury sustained in Doha. Australian luck loser Casey Dellacqua took her place, and was routinely thrashed by Goerges, 6-0, 6-2.

“It's very disappointing, but it's life, it's sport. I just have to take care of it and that's it,” explained Azarenka, who had been hoping to add to her current winning streak here in Dubai. “Last week I hurt it in the semifinals, and I tried to do everything to be able to play in the final. I took a lot of sacrifice by taking a lot of painkillers, but it didn't get better,” she continued. “I had to adjust my movement and compromise in other parts of my body, which started to hurt, and it's just too much of a risk.”

Goerges now faces a quarter-final clash against Daniela Hantuchova, who got past Shuai Peng in straight sets (7-5, 6-2). Speaking after the match, Hantuchova took time out to praise her defeated opponent.

“She has improved so much, especially over the last 12 months. She had a great year last year and she has worked really hard on her game - on the tennis side, on the fitness side. She is always going to be one of the toughest players to play against, but she's a great girl. We always practice together. It's nice to see her do so well.”

Looking ahead to Thursday, it’s not a straightforward task to pick a favourite. Only one player separates this pairing in the rankings, and Goerges and Hantuchova have never met competitively prior to this matchup. This should be a fascinating contest.