Djokovic survives five-setter scare to reach Australian Open quarters

“In terms of the level that I’ve played, it’s the match to forget for me”. “I remember hitting it as hard as I could”, recalled Williams, who ultimately saved three match points in that semifinal.

The four-time Australian Open champion didn’t get on court until 10:45 p.m. because of to late-finishing matches in the afternoon and a subsequent delayed start to the night program.

The Russian will need a serving performance like she had in the Round of 16 against Bencic if she’s going to push Serena and threaten to snap Williams’ 11-match win streak at the Australian Open.

Williams is more comfortable reflecting on their history and how she upstaged the then world No. 1 back in the day by playing with abandon.

She has won 21 Grand Slam titles, including last year’s Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

After losing to Williams 6-3 7-6(5) in the final a year ago, Sharapova said she felt close to breaking the biggest hoodoo in women’s tennis but a 6-2 6-4 defeat in the semi-finals of Wimbledon showed the chasm as wide as ever.

“I look forward to playing the best in the world and that’s what she’s proven the last year and many years, and it will be a great match”.

When she won her match Maria Sharapova knew instantly what it meant.

Sydney-born Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open since 1987 when she beat Denisa Allertova 6-2, 6-2.

Sharapova says she’s not dwelling on a dismal past with Williams; she’s trying to stress the positives ahead of their 21st meeting.

“I just feel like I’m really confident in my game right now, not against her or against any other opponent”, in particular, Williams said.

“I had no choice, just to fight till the end for each point”.

Earlier, two-time champion Victoria Azarenka dropped her opening service game without winning a point, but recovered quickly to beat Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-1.

Suarez ended the dream run of local hope Daria Gavrilova 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 to make the last eight for the first time since her tournament debut in 2009.

The Russian, who boasts five Slams, smashed a career-high 21 aces – complemented by a further 58 winners – in a sturdy fourth round test against Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic.

Williams, with the great Margaret Court in the stadium watching, held serve and broke again for a 3-1 lead.

Djokovic reached his 27th consecutive grand slam quarterfinal in the Open Era to tie Jimmy Connors for second – Roger Federer heads the list with 36 – but his display as afternoon turned into evening in Melbourne was nothing like his grand slam play of 2015.

Williams has been making light work of her opponents all tournament, and today’s match against Margarita Gasparyan was no different. There is the on-court thing which is really only a rivalry for one of them and that is not Williams.

Serena Williams of the United States hits a foreman return to Margarita Gasparyan of Russian Federation during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016. It’s a statistic she tries to block from her mind.

“Absolutely. It’s not like I think about what I can do worse”, she said.

“I got myself into the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam”, the 2008 Australian Open champion said.

“There’s no reason I shouldn’t be looking to improve and to getting my game in a better position than any other previous round. It’s only going to be tougher, especially against Serena”.