MELBOURNE, Australia — A lop-sided rivalry contested over more than a decade, and a newer but just as compelling one highlight the featured quarterfinals at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Defending champion Serena Williams takes a 17-match winning streak into her last-eight encounter with Maria Sharapova that is a rematch of last year's final at Melbourne Park. Williams is 18-2 in their head-to-head encounters that began in 2004, and Sharapova hasn't beaten Williams since the WTA season-ending championships that year.
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 7 Kei Nishikori first played at the French Open in 2010, where Djokovic won in straight sets, and the Serbian player holds a 5-2 edge overall.