Novak Djokovic overcame injury concerns to beat Canadian Milos Raonic and seal an Australian open quarter-final spot for the 12th time on Valentine’s Day.
The eight-time champion impressively defeated Raonic 7-6 4-6 6-1 6-4 despite having received treatment in round three for an abdominal strain.
Djokovic will face German Alexander Zverev, who recorded his 50th major championship victory, easing past Dušan Lajović 6-4 7-6 6-3.
Elsewhere, 2020 finalist and US Open Champion Dominic Thiem slumped out of the tournament in a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 6-0 defeat to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
The Austrian third seed was devoid of energy having rallied to beat Australian Nick Kyrgios in five sets on Friday.
Dimitrov will face the tournament’s surprise package – Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev – who fought from two sets down to beat Canadian 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6 1-6 6-3 6-3 6-4 and make the quarter-final on his tournament debut.
In the women’s draw, third seed and title favourite Naomi Osaka saved two match points on her way to a 4-6 6-4 7-5 victory over last year’s runner-up Garbine Muguruza.
Japan’s Osaka will now come up against Chinese Taipei veteran Hsieh Su-wei, who reached her first grand slam quarter-final, upsetting 19th seed Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2.
Serena Williams overcame a spirited performance from seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka, who recovered from 1-4 to draw level in the final set before Williams sealed a 6-4 2-6 6-4.
Williams will face Simona Halep, who came back from a set down to beat French Open champion Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Notably, the men’s doubles saw Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated 6-3 6-4 by Wesley Koolhof and Lukasz Kubot in the second round.
Featured Image Credit: Vinod Divakaran via Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
