JOIN USFederer lesson for Raonic
Roger Federer delivered another stinging lesson to the next generation of men's tennis at the Australian Open on Monday, mauling Canadian Milos Raonic in straight sets to extend his record to a 35th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Federer completed his 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 masterclass in less than two hours under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, where defending champion Novak Djokovic had toiled for five in a huge scare against another Swiss, Stanislas Wawrinka, the night before.
Federer's emphatic win followed Serena Williams's 6-2, 6-0 demolition of Maria Kirilenko, which set up her own generational battle with teenager Sloane Stephens. Williams needed a measly 57 minutes to secure her 35th Grand Slam quarterfinal, and will face another woman in a hurry in teenager Stephens.
The wise-cracking 19-year-old has been touted as an heir to the 15-times Grand Slam champion Williams and bolstered her credentials with a poised 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win over Serbia's Bojana Jovanovski in the afternoon sun at Hisense Arena.
Williams defeated the impressive Stephens in the leadup tournament in Brisbane, and stopped short of describing herself as a mentor to the up-and-comer.
"I don't know. I mean, I would need a better definition of the word 'mentor'," the 31-year-old told reporters. "It's hard to be a real mentor when you're still in competition."
If Williams needed any inspiration as to how to smack down the next generation, she would have done well to remain at Rod Laver Arena to watch the Swiss maestro. Federer drew Raonic's sting in a tight second set before romping to victory with 34 sparkling winners to set up a quarterfinal with France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
It was the 31-year-old Swiss's second straight win over a vaunted youngster, having swatted away Australian upstart Bernard Tomic in the previous round.
Stephens can afford to buy something sparkling after qualifying for her first grand slam quarter-final, which secured A$250,000 ($263,000) in prize-money.
Britain's Andy Murray has not lost a set at Melbourne Park and derived little joy from his 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 clobbering of shattered 14th seed Simon, with the Frenchman reduced to a staggering wreck in the closing stages. Simon had been exhausted by compatriot Gael Monfils in a five-set marathon in his previous match and could do little more than stick out his racket and hope as he slumped to his 10th straight loss to the Scot.
Four Frenchmen advanced to the last 16 at Melbourne Park for the first time since 1998 and 36th-ranked Jeremy Chardy kept the tricolore flag waving with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over 21st seeded Italian Andreas Seppi to continue his fairytale run.
That secured Chardy's maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal and ensured France would have two men in the last eight, with seventh seed Tsonga grinding down ninth-seeded compatriot Richard Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
World number one Victoria Azarenka was back at her ruthless best in a 6-1, 6-1 demolition of 47th-ranked Russian Elena Vesnina after being taken the distance in her previous match by American Jamie Hampton.
She faces a stiffer challenge in the quarterfinals against another Russian in Svetlana Kuznetsova, who sent 10th seed Caroline Wozniacki spinning out of the tournament and out of the top 10 when the next round of rankings are released.
Results: Fourth round: Men’s singles, prefix denotes seeding: 2-Roger Federer (Sui) bt 13-Milos Raonic (Can) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; 3-Andy Murray (Gbr) bt 14-Gilles Simon (Fra) 6-3, 6-1, 6-3; 7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) bt 9-Richard Gasquet (Fra) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Jeremy Chardy (Fra) bt 21-Andreas Seppi (Ita) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Women’s singles: 3-Serena Williams (US) bt 14-Maria Kirilenko (Rus) 6-2, 6-0; 29-Sloane Stephens (US) bt Bojana Jovanovski (Srb) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5; 1-Victoria Azarenka (Blr) bt Elena Vesnina (Ru) 6-1, 6-1; Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) bt 10-Caroline Wozniacki (Den) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.