• Australian Open, Day Seven

Wozniacki reaches quarters, Sharapova ousted

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki continues to build her tournament nicely © Getty Images

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Top seed Caroline Wozniacki is comfortably through to the Australian Open quarter-finals after a straight sets 6-3 6-4 victory over Anastasija Sevastova.

Wozniacki had a slow start, the feisty young Latvian going up 3-1 with an early break in the first set, but the Dane showed great variety from the baseline to win the next six games, securing the first set and grabbing an early break in the second. She was broken straight back by 46-ranked Sevastova but the underdog's unforced errors continued to stack up, reaching 36 by match's end as she went for the big shots.

The world No.1 will likely face her first serious test in the last eight, when her tournament favourite tag will be examined against Francesca Schiavone. Not that she is worried about where the pundits rank her.

Wozniacki said: "To be honest, I don't think it matters who is the favourite. I think in the end its who won the tournament. You can play unbelievable tennis, but you lose. So sometimes you just need to get through that period where you don't feel like you're playing your best tennis."

French Open champion Schiavone booked her place in the last eight after the Italian survived a marathon struggle against two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Schiavone saved six match points as she triumphed 6-4 1-6 16-14 after four hours and 44 minutes - the longest women's grand slam match in the open era. Both players had their chances to close out the match - Schiavone twice served for the match but was denied by the Russian, but the sixth seed eventually clinched the victory at the third attempt.

Former champion Maria Sharapova's bid for a fourth grand slam title came to an end at the hands of up-and-coming German Andrea Petkovic. Sharapova, who won the title in 2008, was not at her best as she fell in straight sets to the No. 30 seed, who was granted progress into the fourth round after Venus Williams' retirement after only one game.

Sharapova rallied briefly to save match point at 5-1 down in the second set, breaking the German's serve before holding her own, but Petkovic made no mistake at the second time of asking, calmly serving out for a well-deserved 6-2 6-3 victory.

Petkovic will now meet last year's semi-finalist Na Li, who eliminated Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-3. The scoreline did not reflect the tightness of a match defined by big hitting. Azarenka just about matched her diminutive opponent for power but not for mobility. Na motored around the court before releasing her violent blows to the ball, and Azarenka was left too often off balance to get a foothold in the rallies.

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