Sharapova moves on to quarters
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Maria Sharapova beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-1, 6-0 on Sunday to continue a dominant and unparalleled run to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
The No. 2-ranked Sharapova conceded only five games in her first four matches, a record at the season's first major.
She next plays fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who ousted fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-4. Sharapova beat Makarova in the quarterfinals here last year on her way to the final.
In the first men's match Sunday, fourth-seeded David Ferrer had a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 16 Kei Nishikori of Japan to reach the quarterfinals, where he will meet Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
Almagro advanced later Sunday, leading 6-2, 5-1 when No. 8 Janko Tipsaveric retired from their fourth-round match.
On Saturday night, No. 2-ranked Roger Federer knocked Bernard Tomic out of the tournament to end Australia's participation in the singles.
Federer gave the 20-year-old Aussie an instant reality check by breaking him in the very first game, ending Tomic's run of 76 service games unbroken, to set up a 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 win.
It was Federer's 250th win at a Grand Slam event. He next plays big-serving Canadians Milos Raonic, who had 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4 win over Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The third round ended in the early hours of Sunday, when No. 14-seeded Gilles Simon outlasted fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6, 8-6 in a match that finished at 12:32 a.m. local time.
His next match is Monday against U.S. Open champion Andy Murray.
Simon and Jeremy Chardy, who ousted 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-3, were among the four Frenchman who advanced on Saturday.
The others - No. 7-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 9 Richard Gasquet - will meet in the next round.
On the women's side, defending champion Victoria Azarenka beat injured American Jamie Hampton 6-4, 4-6. 6-2 and Serena Williams had a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Japan's Ayumi Morita.
American teenager Sloane Stephens beat Laura Robson 7-5, 6-3 to set up a fourth-round match against Bojana Jovanovski.