Serena powers into quarters as Zverev implodes

Australian Open

January 22, 2019 00:00:00

Serena Williams of the US reacting after gaining a point against Romania's Simona Halep during their women's singles match on day eight of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Monday — AFP

MELBOURNE, Jan 21 (AFP): A fired-up Serena Williams slugged past world number one Simona Halep Monday as she inches ever closer to a 24th Grand Slam title on a day that saw Alexander Zverev implode at the Australian Open.

In a towering performance, the American great scored her biggest win since giving birth to break down the Romanian top seed 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 and move into a quarter-final against seventh seed Karolina Pliskova.

Czech Pliskova is another form player, winning the warm-up Brisbane International and easing past two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-1 to set up the Williams clash.

While Williams stayed cool, highly-rated German fourth seed Zverev lost the plot against Canadian Milos Raonic, crashing 6-1, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) and demolishing a racquet in a massive meltdown.

Women's fourth seed Naomi Osaka was more composed as she beat crafty Latvian Anastasija in three sets to set up a meeting with ambitious Ukrainian Elina Svitolina for a place in the semi-finals.

But it was the dominant Williams who overshadowed them all and is overwhelming favourite to win an eighth Australian title, with defending champion Caroline Wozniacki and second seed Angelique Kerber already out.

She has been in ominous form at Melbourne Park as she seeks one more major title to put her alongside Margaret Court's record 24, and it looked like French Open champion Halep would be another easy scalp after a first set rout.

But the nuggety Romanian isn't world number one for nothing and she bounced back to set up a huge power struggle that Williams finally won with a break in the seventh game of the third set.

Fourth seed Osaka emerged from an error-strewn first set against Sevastova to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

She next faces sixth seed Svitolina, who battled past American Madison Keys 6-2, 1-6, 6-1.

It will be a new experience for whoever wins that showdown, with neither going beyond the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park before.

Svitolina needed to dig deep to overcome 17th seeded Keys, a US Open finalist in 2017.

Svitolina was a quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park last year and has set her sights high after her breakthrough in Singapore, targeting a Grand Slam win and world number one.