MX23RW : Tuesday, March 19 11:22:59| >> :600:162756465:162756465:

Highlights from day eight of the Australian Open

Highlights from day eight of the Australian Open
© Reuters
Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic both battled through to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.

Serena Williams stamped down her authority on the Australian Open by battling past world number one Simona Halep and into the quarter-finals.

In a high-quality clash that lived up to the hype, Halep fought back from a set down and had three chances to lead 4-2 in the third set only for Williams to win 6-1 4-6 6-4.

She next takes on Karolina Pliskova while, in the men's tournament, Novak Djokovic needed four sets to see off Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev crashed out meekly to Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori survived a five-hour battle with Pablo Carreno Busta.

Picture of the day

Novak Djokovic fell down but got up again to beat Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic fell down but got up again to beat Daniil Medvedev (Aaron Favila/AP)

Tweet of the day

Tsitsipas all grown up

Videos of tennis players as juniors are always a winner and this one of Stefanos Tsitsipas is no different.

The Greek's success has stirred up immense excitement among Melbourne's large ex-pat community and he has now been invited to create his own souvlaki by restaurant Stalactites, a local institution.

Managing director Nicole Papasavas told The Age:ย "Stefanos ate here before the tournament but we haven't seen him since. He is probably busy training but we would definitely like to invite him to choose his own ingredientsย and tailor it for his own tastes. And he can even roll it himself if he likes."

Take two for Serena

Williams rarely seems to feel uncomfortable on a tennis court but her entrance onto Rod Laver Arena on Monday could certainly have gone smoother.

The American headed out only to hear the announcer say 'world number one' and make an abrupt U-turn. She said: "They told me to go first in the walkout, and then they called Simona's name first, so I was, like, taking a step back. It was, like, I'm sorry."

Fallen seeds

Women: Simona Halep (1), Anastasija Sevastova (13), Madison Keys (17), Garbine Muguruza (18)

Men: Alexander Zverev (4), Borna Coric (11), Daniil Medvedev (15), Pablo Carreno Busta (23)

Who's up next?

Stefanos Tsitsipas will hope to keep his dream run going
Stefanos Tsitsipas will hope to keep his dream run going (Andy Brownbill/AP)

Tsitsipas will look to follow up his huge win over Roger Federer by taking out Roberto Bautista Agut to reach his first grand slam semi-final.

The victor in that match will face the winner of the night session clash between Rafael Nadal and first-time quarter-finalist Frances Tiafoe.

In the first of the women's quarter-finals, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova meets Danielle Collins before Australian hope Ashleigh Barty takes on Petra Kvitova.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Eleanor Crooks, Press Association Sport Tennis Correspondent, Melbourne');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', 'a6753eb5-1a75-4db8-9943-09ccee2cf5d1');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story-enriched');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:tennis');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Highlights from day eight of the Australian Open'});

ID:347499: cacheID:347499:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9520:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jamie Murray in action on September 15, 2018
Read Next:
Murray: Evans' comments about doubles game are 'lazy, dumb and ill-informed'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!