Nadal battles, Serena breezes into quarters

RAFAEL Nadal struggled into his first grand slam quarterfinal since 2015 at the Australian Open yesterday, as Serena Williams accelerated towards a record title and the No 1 ranking.

Nadal, searching for a revival after injuries wrecked last season, was tested by France’s Gael Monfils before winning 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4 to book a last-eight clash with Milos Raonic.

Nadal, 30, was also pushed to five sets by Alexander Zverev, 19, in round three, but he has survived to reach his first major quarterfinal since the 2015 French Open.

The Spanish world No 9 now has an excellent chance to add to his 14 grand slam titles after world No 1 Andy Murray and title-holder Novak Djokovic were both knocked out.

A day after defending women’s champion and top seed Angelique Kerber also fell by the wayside, Williams beat Barbora Strycova 7-5 6-4 to set up a lasteight meeting with 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.

She fought off the Czech Republic’s Strycova in two tight sets, following her sister Venus into the quarterfinals without dropping a set.

Britain’s Konta, seeded ninth, also reached the last eight with a perfect record in sets after a convincing 6-1 6-4 win over Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova.

Despite the task facing her, Konta, 25, was delighted to be playing Williams, a childhood idol, for what would be her second straight Australian Open semifinal.