Serena Williams takes on Maria Sharapova in Australian Open quarter-final
Tuesday 26 January 2016 11:26, UK
Serena Williams will take on her arch-rival Maria Sharapova in the headline Australian Open quarter-final on Tuesday, with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer also in action.
Sharapova - the 2008 champion - holds the dismal record of never beating her nemesis in 17 contests dating back 12 years but has been in good touch in Melbourne.
The last time she managed a win over Williams was at the WTA Tour Championships in 2004 and her last Grand Slam victory came in the Wimbledon final earlier that year.
But the world No 5, who lost to Williams in the final last year, now has the another chance to finally get the monkey off her back in a mouth-watering contest against the American who is bid bidding to win a 22nd Grand Slam and equal Steffi Graf's Open-era record.
"I'll be ready, she had a really good match - I had no idea I was playing her [Sharapova] next," said 34-year-old Williams.
"That will be a good match, I have nothing to lose. We are both doing the best we can. It'll be fun.
"I think the person who's winning could definitely feel the pressure because there is a lot of expectations. The person who is losing X amount in a row could think 'I don't have anything to lose."
The other women's quarter-final pits fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska against Spanish 10th seed Carla Suarez Navarro.
On the men's side of the draw there will be two tantalising last eight encounters as firstly top seed and five-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic tackles Kei Nishikori in their first Grand Slam meeting since the 2014 US Open semi-finals, when the Japanese player won in four sets to become the first Asian man to reach a major singles final.
Nishikori, who showed no sign of his troublesome right wrist injury, scored a straightforward 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round while Djokovic reached his 27th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final despite making an embarrassing 100 unforced errors during his five-set victory over Frenchman Gilles Simon.
It will be the Serb's 35th overall major quarter-final appearance after reaching the last eight in Melbourne for a ninth consecutive year and he will be aiming to reach a 29th major semi-final.
Japanese star Nishikori, who was humiliated 6-1 6-1 in his last meeting with Djokovic in November, will be hoping to avenge that defeat, saying: "In London, he kind of destroyed me. I hope I can make some changes and try to play better. Yeah, I'm ready to beat him again."
Federer, meanwhile, will be casting wary glances at his opponent Tomas Berdych, who is riding a wave of confidence and has a score to settle.
In 2009, Berdych was two sets up against Federer in the fourth round and heading to victory, but he handed over a break at a crucial point in the third set when he swept a routine volley into the net.
It was a moment that shifted momentum firmly to Federer, who didn't need another invitation as he galloped past the dispirited Czech en route to the final.
Federer, who is looking to add to his record 17 Grand Slam titles at the age of 34, said Berdych would gain confidence from coming through his five-set match with Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the previous round.
Despite his 15-6 head-to-head record against Berdych, the Swiss legend has come unstuck against the 6ft 5in Czech previously at Grand Slams, notably the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon two years earlier.
"I have to play well. I think the court suits him," Federer said, adding: "I would assume he's exactly where he wants to be and he'll recover and make it a tough match for me, no doubt about it.
"It's going to be a good match. We're both going to play aggressive. This court pays off when you do play good and aggressive tennis."
We will bring you all the news, views, reaction and opinion throughout the Australian Open.
