Aryna Sabalenka overcame a sluggish start to open her season with a straight-sets victory Tuesday and kickstart her bid to win the Australian Open for a third consecutive time.

Both milestone victories have now come at the Brisbane International for the Gold Coast resident, with Wednesday’s win over world No. 8 Emma Navarro her best by ranking. Birrell ousted the No. 2 seed, 7-5, 7-5, after two hours and three minutes of battling.

Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell stunned second seed Emma Navarro on Wednesday but defending men’s champion Grigor Dimitrov powered into the Brisbane International quarterfinals. Birrell matched world number eight Navarro stroke-for-stroke on Pat Rafter Arena to put a dent in the American’s Australian Open preparations.

Kim Birrell missed out on a wild card for this year's Australian Open. Her second career win over a top 10 opponent, beating Emma Navarro, shows her that she can qualify outright.