The warrior spirit and ruthlessness of top seed Aryna Sabalenka has come to the fore in her Brisbane International win over Yulia Putintseva.

The world No.1 was made to work hard in a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win on Pat Rafter Arena to set up a meeting with Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova in the quarter-finals.

Bouzkova had sprung an upset earlier on Thursday when she beat two-time Brisbane International winner Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-4.

Kazakhstan's Putintseva went toe-to-toe with the Belarus star Sabalenka in the first set and led 2-1 with a break in the first-set tiebreaker.

It was then that the 26-year-old Sabalenka unleashed with six consecutive points to take the set after showcasing forehand and backhand winners.

The two-time Australlan Open winner broke her opponent early in the second set and went on to complete the job in a high-quality match after and hour and 49 minutes.

Sabalenka closed out the match with her 50th winner of the night.

"(Putintseva) is an amazing player, my friend, and she really pushes you to work hard for every point," Sabalenka said.

"I am a perfectionist but I am really happy with the way I played and with the points I built.

"I am super happy with the win."

Sabalenka is on the cusp of greatness as she targets becoming the first woman since Swiss legend Martina Hingis to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.

Hingis achieved the feat from 1997-1999.

Before the Brisbane International started Sabalenka said she was aiming to improve her service game and touch at the net.

What will have pleased her was how her serve got her out of trouble when she was under the pump.

Her serve was swift, just like Australian Formula One driver Jack Doohan who she had in the box to support her.

"I was trying to be as fast as they drive and be aggressive," she grinned.

"I wanted to him to enjoy watching me play and I hope he did."