Nadal, Serena in quarterfinals

Melbourne, January 23

Nadal had not reached the last eight in a Major since the 2015 French Open, so he celebrated wildly after closing out the two-hour 56-minute clash at a packed Rod Laver Arena.

It was not the most convincing of wins for the 30-year-old Spaniard, who was rattled when Monfils rallied in the fourth set, but the 14-times Grand Slam champion was clinical when it counted to keep his pursuit of a 15th Major title alive. 

Serena powers towards record title, top ranking

Serena Williams kept up her pursuit of a record Grand Slam title and a return to world No. 1 on Monday as she reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set.

Williams overcame Barbora Strycova 7-5 6-4 to set up a last eight clash with Britain’s Johanna Konta.

The American great would gain much from winning in Melbourne, as she would overtake Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and end Kerber’s short reign as world No. 1. In hot conditions, she fought off the tenacious Strycova in two tight sets, following her sister Venus into the quarterfinals and staying on track for a possible all-Williams final.  

Zeel Desai in pre-quarters 

India’s Zeel Desai moved to the girls’ singles pre-quarterfinals of the junior Australian Open but bowed out of the doubles event after first round loss. Zeel defeated Germany’s Jule Niemeier 6-4 6-2 in the second round to set up a contest with fifth seed Serbian Olga Danilovic. 

In the doubles, Zeel and her partner Violet Apisah made an exit after losing 4-6 4-6 to fourth seeds Yang Lee and Rebeka Masarova. 

Paes-Hingis in quarters

Leander Paes and Martina Hingis sailed into the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles event with straight sets win over Australian duo of Matt Reid and Casey Dellacqua 6-2 6-3. — Agencies

Men’s Singles

(Round 4 results): R Nadal (Spain) bt G Monfils (France) 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4, M Raonic (Canada) bt R Bautista (Spain) 7-6(6) 3-6 6-4 6-1, Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) bt Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan) 2-6 7-6(2) 6-2 6-1, D Goffin (Belgium) bt D Thiem (Austria) 5-7 7-6(4) 6-2 6-2

Women’s Singles

(Round 4 results): K Pliskova (Czech Republic) bt D Gavrilova (Australia) 6-3 6-3, M Lucic-Baroni (Croatia) bt J Brady (US) 6-4 6-2, J Konta (Britain) bt E Makarova (Russia) 6-1 6-4, S Williams (US) bt B Strycova (Czech Republic) 7-5 6-4