Azarenka wins easily to reach last 16

MELBOURNE: Top seed Victoria Azarenka romped into the Australian Open last 16 Saturday but Maria Sharapova endured a testing workout and there was further Grand Slam misery for Caroline Wozniacki.

Defending champion Azarenka set up a rematch with Sloane Stephens after dropping just one game against hapless Austrian Yvonne Meusburger in a 6-1, 6-0 rout.

It will be the first time the pair have met since their controversial last-four clash at Melbourne Park in 2013.

During that match, Azarenka drew criticism after taking a medical timeout at a crucial moment and then suggesting she had needed to calm down.

She later said she was being bothered by a rib injury. But she insisted on Saturday that the incident was firmly in the past. "I don´t really think about what happened last year. I know it´s going to be a tough match because I feel we both improved," she said.

Azarenka, who beat Li Na to win last year´s title, is yet to drop a set and is building up a head of steam as the tournament progresses, unlike Sharapova who struggled again.

The Russian third seed´s killer instinct deserted her in the second set when she failed to serve out for victory, with France´s Alize Cornet forcing a tiebreak before going down 6-1, 7-6 (8/6).

Sharapova, who now plays 20th-seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova for a place in the quarter-finals, admitted she must improve to stay in the tournament. "I think I can take a few positives from this match. One being the fact that I was able to win it not playing my best tennis," said the four-time major champion, who is coming back from a shoulder injury. "There are definitely things I´m going to have to improve and do better moving forward, because it only is going to get tougher."

Fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska was also put through her paces by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a hard-fought 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 test.

Serbian eighth seed Jelena Jankovic likewise had to be at her best to get past Kurumi Nara 6-4, 7-5, her third Japanese opponent in a row.

The win set her up with a fourth-round clash with Romanian 11th seed Simona Halep, who ousted Kazakh Zarina Diyas.Radwanska, a quarter-finalist for the last three years, now faces the unheralded Garbine Muguruza who shocked former world number one Wozniacki, who is yet to win a major.

The 20-year-old Muguruza won her first WTA title as a qualifier at this month´s Hobart International and she shows no sign of slowing down, rallying from a set behind to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 for her 11th victory in a row. "I worked really hard in the off-season and this form is the result of that," said the Spaniard, admitting she was nervous in her first ever Grand Slam third-round match. "I was really nervous, it was the third round of a Grand Slam and against a great player. I was only thinking about being aggressive and not being scared."

Stephens beat Ukraine´s Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-4 to make her fifth Grand Slam fourth round in a row. She feels she is a better player than this time last year. "I have worked on a lot of things and I´ve gotten better and I´ve improved. I feel a lot better on the court," she said, adding that her emotions were also more under control. "I´d say I don´t get flustered as easily, that´s something I have worked on." (AFP)