Victoria Azarenka defeated Lin Zhu 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 in the Australian Open round of 16 on hard court on 22 January 2023, confirming her status as the pre-match favourite despite an opening-set loss. Zhu claimed the first set but could not sustain the momentum as Azarenka regrouped decisively, dominating the second set before securing the third to advance. The result underlined Azarenka's resilience in Grand Slam competition and her ability to recover from early adversity against a determined opponent. The Belarusian's progression into the quarterfinals marked another step in her Australian Open campaign.