Anastasia Potapova has had to dig deep to hold serve in the 11th game of the opening set against Kimberly Birrell.

Birrell had three break points, all of which were saved by her Russian opponent.

Potapova had earlier saved two break points to hold serve in the ninth game.

It’ 6-5 to Potapova in the first set, with games on serve.

The first set is level at 4-4 in Kimberly Birrell’s round-of-16 encounter against Russian Anastasia Potapova.

Birrell did have a break point in the seventh game but couldn’t convert.

The winner of this match will play either Anhelina Kalinina or Yuan Yue in the quarterfinals.

Taylah Preston is a set away from moving through to the semifinals in Canberra.

The young Aussie won the opening set against Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-4.

Kimberly Birrell had a break-point opportunity in the fifth game but Anastasia Potapova fights her way out of trouble.

The Russian leads 3-2 on serve in the opening set.

G’day Natty and hello to all who are following the blog!

Taylah Preston has already broken Alexandra Eala’s serve in their quarterfinal in Canberra.

Preston leads 3-2 in the first set.

Outstanding work from Kimberly Birrell to immediately break back against Anastasia Potapova.

The Aussie didn’t drop her head and lose focus, and now the first set is back on serve.

Birrell will serve in the fourth game with Potapova leading 2-1.

It’s not the start Australia’s Kimberly Birrell wanted to make against Anastasia Potapova.

Birrell dropped her opening service game and trails 0-2 against the Russian.

Potapova, ranked 35 in the world, is generating significant power from her forehand at the baseline, forcing Birrell to play defence.

Madison Keys seems to be in a hurry to get off the court across the Tasman.

The top seed won the first set against Jaqueline Cristian 6-1.

The winner of this match will play Danish fifth seed Clara Tauson in the quarterfinals.

In a late-finishing match in the Wednesday night session, Australia’s Jordan Thompson overcame a slow start to defeat Alex Michelsen 7-5, 6-3 and reach the quarterfinals.

Thompson will play Bulgarian defending champion Grigor Dimitrov in the last eight.

It’s quarterfinal day in the national capital, with Australia’s Taylah Preston on court warming up for her match with Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.

We’ll keep you updated with the progress of that match.

Meanwhile, number one seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain is through to the semifinals via a  6-3, 6-3 win over Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva.

Top-seeded American Madison Keys is on court for her Auckland round-of-16 clash against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian.

Keys has an early service break and leads the unseeded Cristian 3-1.

We’re not far away from Kimberly Birrell taking to Pat Rafter Arena for her round-of-16 match against Anastasia Potapova.

The Aussie provided one of the upsets of the tournament on New Year’s Day when she defeated second second Emma Navarro in straight sets.

We’ll keep you across the Birrell-Potapova once it’s underway.

G’day and thanks for joining ABC Sport’s digital coverage of the summer of tennis as we get ready for the Australian Open.

It’s another bumper day and we’ll keep you across the following tournaments:

• Brisbane International
• United Cup
• Canberra International
• Auckland Open

We hope you can stick with us throughout the day and evening!