DAY 3 saw mostly clean sweeps in the WTA Adelaide Classic, bar one three setter and one match finishing early with injury. With plenty of seeded players taking the court on Day 3, there was plenty of talent competing for a chance in the quarter finals. Ninth seed – and former three-time Grand Slam winner – Angelique Kerber was forced to retire from her match against young Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska early in the first set, citing injury to her left hamstring.

In ultimately the biggest win of the day, Czechan Marketa Vondrousova defeated outside chance Australian, Arina Rodionova in straight sets without dropping a single game for the match, 6-0 6-0. Vondrousova was clinical in her mission on court, reducing Rodionova to winning under 30 per cent of both first and second serve points and collecting the quickest win of the day in only 51 minutes. Danielle Collins had a similarly straightforward match against fellow countrywoman and seventh seed, Sofia Kenin, collecting a 6-3 6-1 win. Collins used her serve to advantage, racking up four aces and winning 84 per cent of points off her first serve.

Fourth seed Belinda Bencic continued her winning ways with a hard fought win over German, Julia Goerges, with the pair evenly matched in past head to heads. This match was no different, with Bencic narrowly reigning supreme, 7-6 7-6. The pair combined for a whopping 18 aces between them – Goerges coming off the better with 12 alone, though it was Bencic who eventually got the job done off the back of a clinical effort and taking opportunities off the second serve.

Croatian Donna Vekic defeated Maria Sakkari after a slow start in the only match that went to three sets on Day 3, finishing 2-6 7-5 6-1. The two-hour match saw both top 20 players fight tooth and nail for a coveted spot in the semi finals. Meanwhile, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka continued her solid form with a tough first set win leading to a straight sets victory over American, Bernarda Pera, 7-6 6-2. Sabalenka was intuitive in her approach, causing errors for Pera and throwing her off her game, with Pera collecting a whopping eight double faults for the match.

Day 3 Results:

[4] Belinda Bencic (SUI) defeated Julia Goerges (GER) 7-6 7-6
[6] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) defeated Bernarda Pera (USA) 7-6 6-2
Danielle Collins (USA) defeated [7] Sofia Kenin (USA) 6-3 6-1
[8] Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) defeated Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-0 6-0
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) defeated [9] Angelique Kerber (GER) 6-3 2-0 RET
Donna Vekic (CRO) defeated Maria Sakkari (GRE) 2-6 7-5 6-1