• Australian Open, Day Eight

Zvonareva and Clijsters on collision course

Vera Zvonareva crushed the ball and her opponent Iveta Benesova © Getty Images

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Day Eight Gallery

Kim Clijsters continued her march towards her first Australian Open title after she proved too strong for Ekaterina Makarova.

The No. 3 seed, widely considered the favourite, reached her sixth quarter-final in Melbourne with a 7-6(2) 6-2 victory on the Rod Laver Arena.

After a shaky start, world No. 49 Makarova found her feet, and battled back to 2-2 after failing to hold her opening service game. She began to find her range and it was credit to Clijsters' impressive athleticism that she was able to reach Makarova's ranging returns.

Clijsters, who is yet to drop a set, clinched the opener on a tiebreak and carried her momentum into the second, where she soon opened up a lead and never looked in danger of surrendering her advantage. The Belgian wrapped up victory after less than 90 minutes on court to set up a quarter-final clash against Agnieszka Radwanska, with a potential encounter against No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva to come in the semi-finals.

Zvonareva, who was beaten by Clijsters in last year's US Open final, repeated her 2010 Australian Open defeat of Iveta Benesova in the fourth round of this year's competition on Monday to move ominously into the quarter-finals.

Zvonareva overpowered her opponent 6-4 6-1 in 76 minutes, yet not without a nervous period in the first set. She went 2-0 up only to then lose four games in a row to trail 4-2, but she found the form that has lifted her in the world's top two to win eight out of the next nine games and ultimately, the match.

On track to repeat her finals appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open last year, Zvonareva suggested after the match she has been saving her best for the Grand Slams: "I've been pretty good at the majors last year, and so far this year started off well... It's just the atmosphere, the tournament. It's your Grand Slam, and that's what you work very hard [for] over the many years. That's where you want to play your best tennis."

Elsewhere, No. 25 seed Petra Kvitova came from behind to beat No. 22 seed Flavia Pennetta 3-6 6-3 6-3. Kvitova's victory was a result of risk-and-reward tennis where she hit 46 winners and 43 unforced errors. Kvitova will be the third consecutive Czech to face Zvonareva in the tournament, so some national revenge could add an edge to their quarter-final showdown.

Radwanska saved two match points to grind her way into the quarter-finals with a 7-5 3-6 7-5 win over Peng Shuai. In previous meetings between the pair, all three matches went the distance, and their fourth encounter was no different, with the No. 12 seed outlasting her opponent after two hours and 44 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

Peng, who claimed the scalp of Jelena Jankovic in the third round, looked to be on course for another upset when serving for the match, but Radwanska dug deep to book her place in the last eight.

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