Former Australian Open champion Azarenka sets up q-final meeting with Kerber

Chinese qualifier Zhang Shuai has advanced to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park after beating a limping Madison Keys 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Radwanska next plays No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, who had a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Russian-born Australian Daria Gavrilova. “Be more aggressive, play aggressive”, she said.

“I’m very, very happy that I came out and played as well as I did”, Federer said.

Murray took a firm grip when he claimed the second set with an ace.

Talk of a final appearance is perhaps premature though, and the two-time champion at Melbourne Park didn’t have it all her own way on Monday.

The win moved French Open champion Wawrinka into a fourth-round match against Milos Raonic, who beat Viktor Troicki. Konta hit the headlines on the first day, putting out eighth seed Venus Williams in straight sets. Stan dropped the first two frames, but has forced into a fifth and deciding set.

Then comes the big match.

Melbourne Park has been a happy hunting ground for Azarenka, winning in 2012 and 2013.

The Konta item in this report has been corrected to show she is the first British woman since 1983 to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament.

With her impressive Melbourne run coming off the back of the Brisbane title, Azarenka has now won nine consecutive matches on Australian soil this summer.

Konta prevailed in a three-hour, four-minute slugfest 4-6, 6-4, 8-6 against Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova, a semi-finalist previous year.

The first Grand Slam of the year has been overshadowed from the start by BBC and BuzzFeed News reports alleging that match-fixing was widespread at the top level of the sport and that authorities had failed to thoroughly investigate evidence of corruption involving 16 players who have ranked in the top 50 over the past decade.

Novak Djokovic was looking everywhere for answers, even in the crowd. Azarenka has lost in the quarterfinals of a grand slam four times since 2014.

We are pretty sure it will be an entertaining match but Keys’ bigger experience may be a massive factor in this match. Azarenka broke to begin the second set, getting out to a quick 2-0 lead.

Raonic held in the next game, clinching it with an ace, and Wawrinka saved a match point in his next service game. She gamely carried on but was clearly in pain, with tears on court.

This time, he’ll be facing No. 23 Gael Monfils, who reached the last eight in Australia for the first time in 11 trips with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Andrei Kuznetsov.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus plays a shot to Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, January 2016.

Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza became the latest leading name to make an early exit at the Australian Open as she lost to Czech Barbora Strycova.

Azarenka will next face No. 7 seed Angelique Kerber who she defeated in the Brisbane final a few weeks ago. Azarenka joked after winning their fourth round meeting at the Rod Laver Arena.

Belarussian Azarenka explains the driving force behind her form Pressure is merely a matter of perspective for Victoria Azarenka, who can recall days when she was anxious as much about going hungry as she was about her next match.