Thursday 24 May 2018 14:24, UK
Caroline Wozniacki's search for a maiden major remains on track after easing past Magdalena Rybarikova to reach a 10th Grand Slam quarter-final.
The two-time US Open runner-up and world No 2 was too good for her Slovakian opponent, racing into the last eight thanks to a 6-3 6-0 victory that took just over an hour and sets up a date with Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.
Wozniacki, whose best result in Melbourne was a semi-final in 2011, has dropped just one set en route to her first Melbourne quarter-final since 2012, when she was beaten by Kim Clijsters.
"She really mixes up the pace, I just tried to calm down, get my returns in and wait for the opportunities to attack," Wozniacki said after knocking out the 19th seed and Wimbledon semi-finalist.
"I think you can tell my confidence is pretty good at the moment. There's still a long way, so I really just focus on the task ahead of me.
"When you put in the work, then you just hope that's enough. If it's not, then you go back to work and try and get better - for me, it's no pressure, just go out there and have fun."
In contrast to Wozniacki, Suarez Navarro needed 2hrs and 17mins before knocking out 32nd seed Anett Kontaveit in a gruelling three-set epic.
Kontaveit, who ended the hopes of French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, had taken the first set and led 4-1 in the second before 29-year-old Suarez Navarro hit back to level the contest and then went on to take the decider 8-6, sealing a place in her third Aussie quarter-final.
However, the Spaniard has never gone beyond the last eight in the singles of any Grand Slam, losing each of her previous five quarter-finals at that level.
Like Wozniacki, fourth seed Elina Svitolina is chasing a first Grand Slam title and remains on track after a 6-3 6-1 victory over Denisa Allertova.
The Ukrainian has never been beyond the last eight of a Grand Slam and had been forced to wait until almost midnight before starting her match following a day of epic contests.
However, once she took to the court, Svitolina wasted no time in booking her quarter-final spot, needing just 57 minutes to wrap up a convincing triumph that sets up a date with unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens.
The Belgian world No 37 beat Croatia's Petra Martic 7-6 7-5 to continue her best run at a Grand Slam on her debut in the main draw in Melbourne.
