Belarus’s Azarenka, who has suffered a lean year after shooting up the rankings in 2009, beat France’s eighth seed Marion Bartoli 6-3, 7-5 while Russia’s Makarova surprised French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur 7-6, 7-5.
Stosur started strongly and powered into a 3-0 lead at which point Makarova, ranked 100 in the world, consulted with her coach and began to fire off some stunning winners.
Australia’s Stosur was not at her best as she slipped to defeat but the world No. 7 was not too disappointed with her week’s work.
“To have played as many matches as I have, on the whole well, it’s still good preparation,” Stosur told reporters. “Physically I feel fine, I’ll take a day off tomorrow, and then have a day or two to prepare for the Wimbledon first round.”
Azarenka, ranked 15, was all high-pitched shrieking and powerful baseline hitting against Bartoli as she showed flashes of the form that propelled her into the top 10 last year.
“It was a very tough match, she kept moving me from side to side,” the 20-year-old Azarenka, who knocked out Kim Clijsters in the quarter-finals, said. “It’s been a while since I won so many matches.”
In Den Bosch, Netherlands, Janko Tipsarevic upset defending champion Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 Friday in a rain-interrupted match at the Unicef Open.
He will play unseeded Sergiy Stakhovsky in the final.
Stakhovsky beat Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-4 in the grass-court tournament to advance to his first final of the year.
While Stakhovsky hopes to add to his two ATP titles, the final will be only the second in the eight-year career of Tipsarevic.
Meantime, Roger Federer was handed a tough draw Friday in his bid for a record-equaling seventh Wimbledon title.
The defending champion and top-seeded Federer was drawn in the same top half with Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic and former champion Lleyton Hewitt.
Federer beat Roddick in a marathon five-set final last year.
Second-seeded and 2008 winner Rafael Nadal has Andy Murray and Robin Soderling in the bottom half of the draw.
Federer, winner of 16 Grand Slam titles, will open Monday against Colombia’s 65th-ranked Alejandro Falla. Federer hasn’t lost a set in four previous matches with Falla, including a 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 rout at Wimbledon in 2004 and 6-1, 6-2 win on grass in Halle, Germany, last week.
Nadal plays Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the first round.
In the women’s draw, the Williams sisters are seeded to meet again in the final for the fifth time.
Top-seeded and three-time champion Serena has former winner Maria Sharapova and French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur in her half. Five-time champion Venus has Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, both returning to Wimbledon after coming out of retirement, in her half.
Serena will play 148th-ranked Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal in the opening round, while Venus opens against Paraguay’s Rossana De Los Rios.
Federer, who has reached a a record seven consecutive Wimbledon finals, is trying to match Pete Sampras with seven titles at the All England Club.
The men’s draw sets up potential quarterfinals in the top half between Federer and fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko and No. 3 Djokovic vs. No. 5 Roddick. Looming in the bracket, however, is No. 15 Hewitt, the 2002 champion who beat Federer in Sunday’s final in Halle. The Australian could meet Djokovic in the fourth round.
Federer could face Roddick in a semifinal showdown. Federer has beaten the American in three Wimbledon finals, including last year’s classic that went to 16-14 in the fifth set.
Among the women, Serena Williams could face a fourth-round battle against Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champion who is still trying to return to the top of her game after shoulder and elbow problems. Beyond that, Serena is poised to face No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarters and Stosur in the semis.
In the bottom half, there could be a fourth-round all-Belgian duel between Clijsters and Henin. No. 8 Clijsters is returning to Wimbledon for the first since 2006 after coming out of retirement last year and winning the U.S. Open. No. 17 Henin is back for the first time since 2007 after 20 months away from the game.
Venus Williams could face new French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Jelena Jankovic in the semis.
