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Serena Williams reaches fourth round of the Australian Open

Serena snuffs out Nicole Gibbs' challenge with 6-1 6-3 win

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Rafael Nadal survived a five-set thriller against Alexander Zverev, while Milos Raonic and Serena Williams also progressed

Serena Williams joined sister Venus in the fourth round of the Australian Open while Dominika Cibulkova became the latest top seed to crash out on Saturday.

The second seed ruthlessly snuffed out Nicole Gibbs's challenge as she seeks a record 23rd Grand Slam title, clinically dispatching her fellow American 6-1 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.

It is the 14th time in her 17 Australian Opens the former world No 1 has made at least the last 16, and sets her up with a clash against 16th-seeded Czech Barbora Strycova, who beat French 21st seed Caroline Garcia, 6-2 7-5.

Konta demolishes Wozniacki
Konta demolishes Wozniacki

Johanna Konta crushes Caroline Wozniacki at the Australian Open

The 35-year-old American, bidding for a record 23rd Grand Slam title in the professional era and a seventh at Melbourne Park, heads into the second week in fine touch with three comfortable wins - including over former top-ten players Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova.

"It was really good to get this under my belt," she said. "I always try to take everyone super-serious and I'm always super-focused.

"I have been doing the things I have been doing in practice, and hopefully I can build up on this. That's all I want to do."

Serena Williams of the US hits a return against Nicole Gibbs of the US during their women's singles third round match on day six of the Australian Open
Image: Williams is bidding to win a record 23rd Grand Slam title

It was a leisurely work-out for Williams who had the answer to everything Gibbs threw at her, breaking twice to race through the set in just 26 minutes.

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Williams, who played her first match on Rod Laver Arena 19 years ago, cranked up the pressure in the second set, but she let her guard down briefly when serving for the match, allowing Gibbs to secure her first and only break.

It only delayed the inevitable, with Gibbs promptly broken for the fifth time as Williams drew her masterclass to a close.

Strycova, who has never gone beyond the fourth round in Melbourne, said she was relishing the challenge of taking on Williams in the next round.

"That's why you train," she said. "That's why you work hard, to play these matches on these stages and against the best one.

Ekaterina Makarova celebrates winning her third round match against Dominika Cibulkova
Image: 2015 Australian Open semi-finalist Makarova upset Cibulkova

Cibulkova became the latest top seed to crash out of the tournament when she was upset by Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

The Slovak sixth seed and WTA Finals champion joins third seed Agnieszka Radwanska and fourth-seeded Simona Halep as first-week casualties, blowing the draw wide open.

Makarova, 28, sealed a marathon 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win in nearly three hours put her in the fourth round for a seventh consecutive time.

"It was an amazing match, an amazing fight," Makarova said. "This is my favourite Grand Slam and I really want to stay here.

"I want to enjoy this win today because it is my first against Dominika and she is a great player."

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni celebrates winning her second round match against Agnieszka Radwanska
Image: Lucic-Baroni has already dumped out Agnieszka Radwanska

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni continued her unlikely run with a 3-6 6-2 6-3 win over Maria Sakkari from Greece to advance.

The 34-year-old, who stunned third seed Radwanska in round two, battled from a set down to end the dreams of Sakkari to make the fourth round.

Until this year she had never gone beyond the second round in Melbourne since her debut in 1998, setting the new record of a 19-year gap between wins at a single Grand Slam tournament.

It surpassed the previous record held by Japan's Kimiko Date, who went 17 years between victories at Wimbledon between 1996 and 2013.

How far can Konta go?
How far can Konta go?

Johanna Konta is set to challenge for Australian Open title

She next plays American Jennifer Brady, a qualifier ranked No 116, for a chance to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final since her run to the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 1999 as a 17-year-old.

Qualifier Brady made it through with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win over 14th-seeded Elena Vesnina.

US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova rallied from 5-1 down in the third set to beat Jelena Ostapenko 4-6 6-0 10-8 and reach the fourth round for the first time while on the adjoining Rod Laver Arena, remaining Australian hope Daria Gavrilova beat 12th-seeed Timea Bacsinszky 6-3 5-7 6-4.

Check updates from Jo Konta, Andy Murray and Dan Evans' matches at the Australian Open by following our blog on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.

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