That’s rarified territory for the five-time and defending champion, equaling Jimmy Connors’ career mark of consecutive quarterfinals – only Roger Federer has done better with his 36.
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Novak Djokovic was no match for No. 7-seed KeiNishikori on Tuesday night in Melbourne, as the No. 1-seed rolled to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory in just over two hours.
Up next for her is fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3 to reach a Grand Slam semifinal for the fifth time.
It was anything but a Serene Sunday in fourth round play on the men’s side at the Australian Open. It’s nearly like after the 2015 season that I’ve had, anything aside from a title or a final is not a success.
Federer took his 300th Grand Slam win by beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4,3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Friday, to move on to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The 17-times grand slam champion roared through the first set in 21 minutes as he conceded just two points on his own serve and broke the Belgian twice. He hasn’t gone past the semifinals at Melbourne Park since winning the title in 2010, but he’s a serious obstacle for Djokovic.
“It’s motivating because she’s at a different level”, Sharapova said.
“It’s not a stat that’s set in stone”, Williams said.
Federer has reached three grand slam finals since he lifted the Wimbledon title in 2012 but title number 18 has so far proved elusive. “You have to come out with a lot of fire and intensity”.
Sharapova has won five majors, including the 2008 Australian title, and has been in three other finals at Melbourne Park.
She now has another chance to finally get the monkey off her back after coming through a 7-5, 7-5 thriller against fast-rising Swiss teen Belinda Bencic.
Djokovic also blamed a “brain freeze” for continually trying to make drop shots, which either found the net or were run down by his French opponent. “She was really explosive off the return”.
Williams also had to concentrate hard to hold in the ninth game, when a baby screamed loudly in the stands as she faced breakpoints. Disrupted Djokovic managed to win only one point in the tie break, something that is so rare to see from him, and after more than 2 hours result was tied at one set each, with much drama to follow.
Williams had medical treatment between sets, and again in the second during a changeover, but it wasn’t clear what the problem was.
Even when Berdych stole a break and leaped out to a 2-0 lead in the third set, he handed that break right back to Federer.
Sharapova hasn’t given up hope of breaking a drought against Williams that goes back to 2004.
“No, but that’s good”, she said.
“I made a lot of unforced errors today”, Djokovic admitted.
Djokovic surged to 5-1 and served out the match on his second opportunity.
He has won two of his seven clashes with Djokovic on tour, including the 2014 US Open semi-final.
“I expect to play her – I look forward to playing the best in the world and that’s what she’s proven in the a year ago”, she said. “But in terms of the performance itself, I haven’t done well at all”, Djokovic said post-match.
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Early breaks were enough to secure the first two sets for the Serbian, who later revealed he had not hit a single ball on Monday, and only after an injury timeout did Nishikori rediscover the aggression that got him to the last eight.
