Serena waltzes into Australian Open quarter-finals

Monday, 25 January 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Serena Williams of the U.S. celebrates after winning her fourth round match against Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 24, 2016. REUTERS

Reuters: World number one Serena Williams wasted little time in swatting aside Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan 6-2 6-1 on Sunday, setting up an Australian Open quarter-final showdown with Maria Sharapova.

Williams was broken in the first game of the fourth round match, only the second time she had dropped serve in the tournament, before she rattled off the next four games and went on to seal the set in 30 minutes.

The 34-year-old defending champion barely got into second gear against Gasparyan and breezed through the second set to seal the match in less than hour.

Williams has now had three relatively straightforward matches after being pushed by Camila Giorgi in the first round, and should be well rested when she faces Sharapova, who she beat in last year’s final.