Highlights of Day 8 of the Australian Open

There was plenty of action on Day 8 of the Australian Open as the top men seeds glided through their respective matches. It was an amazing action-packed Monday as the crowd turned up in numbers to watch their favorite stars in action.

Novak Djokovic didn’t have much trouble en route his victory over his opponent as he won his pre-quarterfinal match in straight sets. The Serbian top seed was always in charge against unseeded Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, dictating terms in a testing 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 work-out to reach his eighth consecutive quarter-final at Melbourne Park. He will now play big-serving Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic as he bids for a fifth Australian crown and an eighth Grand Slam title.

Stanislas Wawrinka also made it into the last eight, but the reigning men’s champion was again pushed hard in this competition, toppling Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at the end of four draining sets of tennis. He now plays Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori, who was a class above dogged Spanish baseliner David Ferrer, easing through 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Canadian Milos Raonic set another Canadian tennis record by reaching his third Grand Slam quarter-finals with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3 win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez Monday at the Australian Open. Raonic is the first Canadian man to make the Melbourne final eight since Michael Belkin did it in 1968.

The ladies singles matches were filled with intensity and vigour as the top seeds faced an arduous task in getting through to the round of 8. Fellow world number one Serena Williams battled back from a set down in a tense match against Spain`s Garbine Muguruza to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, staying on track for a 19th Grand Slam title and her sixth at Melbourne. Next up for the top seed is Dominika Cibulkova, who has also showcased her fortitude in progressing to the latter stages of the tournament. The dynamic Slovakian proved her mettle in a fine three-set win over two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in Round 4 and will fancy her chances against Williams, who has occasionally looked a little vulnerable.

The story was similar with her Elder sister Venus as she rolled back the years to thump Polish sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. She is now 9-0 for the season after winning the Auckland Classic. It is the 34-year-old seven-time Grand Slam champion`s first major quarter since the 2010 US Open, having been diagnosed with the energy-sapping Sjogren`s Syndrome in 2011.

Former Australian champion Lindsay Davenport`s protege Madison Keys made her first Grand Slam quarter-final, winning an all-American clash with Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-4.

An exciting day of tennis awaits us on Day 9 as the top seeds battle it out in the business end of the tournament.

RESULTS:-