Serena Williams: Had an easy fourth round

Defending champion Serena Williams will face Maria Sharapova in a mouthwatering Australian Open 2016 quarterfinal, which will be a rematch of last year’s final at Melbourne Park.

After Sharapova, the fifth seed earlier battled her way to a hard-fought straight-sets win over Swiss teen Belinda Bencic, Williams had a far easier time against unseeded Russian Margarita Gasparyan at Rod Laver Arena.

Gasparyan broke Williams in the first game of the match but the No.1 seed allowed her just two more games after that en route to a 6-2 6-1 victory.

Maria Sharapova

Although Serena had beaten Sharapova 18 times, she said of the 26 January showdown: “Every match is new. You know, she always brings in something new and something special. She’s very consistent, as well … one player that’s always consistently winning and training hard and working hard and winning matches.”

“I don’t have anything to lose,” she added. “Every tournament for me is just a bonus at this point in my career. So it’s an interesting place to be at.”