Top seed and home hope Ashleigh Barty survived a scare to battle into the Australian Open quarter-finals in three sets on Sunday. And the crowd fell quiet in the second set as Barty -- who once gave up tennis for professional cricket -- racked up 12 unforced errors. They went to a decider and it was the French Open champion Barty who drew first blood, breaking for a 3-1 lead, but Riske broke back when the Australian planted a backhand wide. There is immense pressure on Barty to become the first Australian woman since Chris O'Neil in 1978 to win their home Grand Slam. The draw has opened up nicely for Barty with reigning champion Naomi Osaka, record-chasing Serena Williams and second seed Karolina Pliskova all going out in round three.

Source: Punch January 26, 2020 10:18 UTC