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Monday, Jan 21, 2013 10:05 AM UTC

Murray through to quarterfinals at Australian Open

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Murray through to quarterfinals at Australian Openduring their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)(Credit: Rob Griffith)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Five months after ending a 76-year drought for British men in Grand Slam tournaments with a win at the U.S. Open, Andy Murray is into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and on track to make it two in a row.

The third-seeded Murray beat Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 on Monday for his fourth straight-sets win in a row. He will play unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the quarterfinals.

Chardy followed his upset of 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over another highly-ranked player, No. 21 Andreas Seppi, in the fourth round.

Murray said he was surprised by Chardy’s win over del Potro.

“Well obviously no one knew,” Murray said. “I just have to focus on my side of the court.”

Another Frenchman to advance was seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat friend and compatriot Richard Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round.

Tsonga, who lost the 2008 Australian Open final to top-ranked Novak Djokovic, could meet Roger Federer in the quarterfinals if the 17-time Grand Slam champion beats Canadian Milos Raonic later Monday at Rod Laver Arena.

Waiting on the other side of the draw is Djokovic, who could meet Federer or Murray in the final and plays his quarterfinal match Tuesday against Tomas Berdych. Djokovic advanced to the quarters after a 5-hour, 2-minute fourth-round win over Stanislas Wawrinka in the early hours Monday.

Serena Williams’ fourth-round match against Maria Kirilenko preceded the Federer-Raonic match on Monday.

Earlier Monday, Victoria Azarenka advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Elena Vesnina. Azarenka could play Williams in the semifinals, with a possible final against Maria Sharapova.

“It’s getting there … with every match you start building up for the top battles starting now,” said Azarenka, who needed only 57 minutes to beat the 47th-ranked Vesnina. “It’s really exciting to be again so far in the tournament.”

Azarenka started last season with a 26-match winning streak, including a lopsided victory over Sharapova in the Australian Open final. She moved to No. 1 in the rankings with that win and has remained there for all but a few weeks ever since.

But she needs to defend her Australian title to hold the top spot from French Open champion Sharapova or Williams, who last year won Wimbledon, a singles gold at the London Olympics and a U.S. Open title.

Next up for Azarenka is a quarterfinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova, who entered the season’s first major ranked No. 75 but has won titles at the 2004 U.S. Open and 2009 French Open.

American Sloane Stephens advanced to the last eight of a major for the first time with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win over Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski — and she was looking forward to a potential match against 15-time major winner Williams in the quarterfinals.

After five breaks of serve in the third set, Stephens broke Jovanovski and then held to advance, knowing her parents and grandparents were watching on TV.

“I’m sure my mother’s had, like, four heart attacks,” Stephens joked after the see-saw match. “I hope my Grandpa didn’t have to put my Grandma to bed, because she gets a little worried.”

Williams, who has rated Stephens a potential world No. 1, beat the 19-year-old American in straight sets two weeks ago at the Brisbane International, one of the warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open.

Stephens is looking forward to a rematch, where there won’t be any major surprises.

“It will be tough, obviously … it’s quarters of a Grand Slam,” she said. “There won’t be that like first time, ‘Oh, my God, I’m playing Serena’. That’s kind of out of the window now. So that’s good. And then it will feel more of like a regular match instead of all the other like things to think about.”

Kuznetsova was given a time warning for taking too long during a changeover in her 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 win earlier Monday over former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, but said it didn’t bother her.

As for Wozniacki, after twice failing to win her breakthrough major as the No. 1-ranked woman at the Australian Open, she is now expected to drop out of the top 10 after a fourth-round loss that follows back-to-back first-round exits at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Kuznetsova is moving in the other direction on her comeback from a right knee injury that ruled her out of the last U.S. Open, ending a run of contesting 40 consecutive majors. And she’s looking forward to taking on Azarenka.

“The time I played in Indian Wells was totally a disaster. I got (beaten) very badly,” she said. “But, I mean, she’s tough. She’s No. 1. I have nothing to lose. She has all the pressure.

“I know I got the game to give her some problems, and I will just do my best and just try to enjoy it.”

More By Dennis Passa.

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