Azarenka sees off Makarova challenge

Victoria Azarenka continued to avoid the clatter of seeds in the women’s draw at the French Open as she eased through to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Ekaterina Makarova this afternoon.

The fourth seed was the favourite for the title before the tournament started despite never previously having been past the last eight at a grand slam, and she is the highest-ranked player left after early exits for Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva.