Williams sets up Konta clash

Serena Williams was made to work hard by Czech 16th seed Barbora Strycova to set up a quarter-final clash with Briton Johanna Konta.

It was far from east for the American as she closed in on her 11th straight Grand Slam quarter-final with seven breaks of serve in a tight opening set, which eventually went the way of the six-time champion with a strange backhand.

Williams broke early in the second set to take a 3-1 lead and she maintained her advantage to serve for the match at 5-3. However, Strycova broke back to extend the match but it was brief reprieve as Williams set up break point against her opponent's serve and she duly completed at 7-5 6-4 win when Strycova found the net.

“She’s hard to read, she’s scrappy, gets a lot of balls back. She definitely plays a different game than the other three players I played before,” Williams said.

“I feel like it was really good for me to win on probably not my best day, which is always good, because sometimes you rely on one shot and if it goes off, and then, like, what happens now?

“It was really good for me to almost lose that so I know my other game is going pretty good, too.”

Konta, meanwhile, produced a strong performance to defeat Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-4.

The ninth seed proved too strong for her opponent from the start of their last 16 encounter, racing through the first set in just 24 minutes, but Makarova found a way back into the match in the second.

With Konta's first serve deserting her; Makarova broke to lead 4-1 only for the Briton to win five games in a row before serving out to book her place in the quarter-finals.

"I think I came out definitely playing at a higher level than she did but she really put herself back into that match and made it difficult for me," said Konta.

"The way she pulled away in the second set, I don't feel like I did much wrong, she started playing some incredible tennis."

Williams is bidding for a 23rd Grand Slam title and the six-time champion insists she has nothing to lose when she faces Konta in the last eight.

"I have absolutely nothing to lose in this tournament. Everything here is a bonus for me," she said. "Obviously I'm here to win, hopefully I can play better, I can only go better."

On Konta, she said: "I have watched her game a lot. She's been playing really well. She has a very attacking game. I know her game pretty well and I look forward to it."

Elsewhere, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final in 18 years as she overcame American qualifier Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-2.

Lucic-Baroni has not reached the last eight of a major since Wimbledon 1999 but her long wait came to an end in superb style with a strong performance to end her opponent's hopes of a shock.

It has been a long journey for Lucic-Baroni, who played just three matches between 2004 and 2006 due to personal issues, but she is savouring every moment of her success in Melbourne.

“It’s incredible. I always said I know I had the game. I’ve worked so hard and sacrificed so much. I hope nobody is going to pinch me and wake me up, because this is just incredible," she said.

“I’m a tough little cookie and really, really stubborn. When I want something I will work really hard to get it.

“It’s not a guarantee by any means, for sure, that you’re going to get there, but man, what a satisfaction I feel right now. I will tell it to anybody struggling out there, actually I can’t say because I’m going to get fined.

“Eff everything and everybody who tells you you can’t do it. Do it with your heart.”

Lucic-Baroni will play fifth seed Karolina Pliskova, who defeated Daria Gavrilova 6-3 6-3.

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