Jeremy Chardy continues Australian hot streak, faces Murray next

Melbourne, Australia (4E Sports) – Giant-killer Jeremy Chardy overcame a sluggish start before beating No. 21 Andreas Seppi, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, Monday to advance to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open.

Seppi was the third straight seeded player eliminated by Chardy, who earlier ousted sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro and 30th seed Marcel Granollers.

Chardy hit five double faults in the opening set but eventually displayed the form that ousted del Potro to clinch a quarterfinal spot after two hours and 42 minutes of play.

“After my first win, I feel more relaxed, more confident. Now I’m in a quarterfinal,” said Chardy. “It’s just like a dream. I played very well on court. I feel very well. I played solid. It’s good for my tennis.”

For a place in the semifinal, Chardy will play World No. 3 Andy Murray, who dismissed Gilles Simon, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.

Chardy trails Murray, 1-4, head-to-head encounter but won their most recent contest in straight sets at the Western & Southern Open in August 2012.

“I won already against him, so it’s good for the confidence when you go on court. Last year I played a perfect match against him,” said Chardy.

Meanwhile, world No. 2 Roger Federer advanced to his 35th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Canadian Milos Raonic.

Federer broke Raonic’s serve three times and did not face a break point himself en route to victory that sealed a showdown with No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 20 minutes.

Tsonga trails Federer 3-8 in their head-to-head showdown but has beaten him in Grand Slam play before, winning their Wimbledon quarter-final clash in 2011 in five sets.

Federer is bidding to become only the second man in history, after Roy Emerson, to win five Australian Open titles. He lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park in 2004, 2006-2007 and 2010.

On the women’s front, No. 3 Serena Williams scored an easy 6-2, 6-0 win over Maria Kirilenko in just 57 minutes to extend her current winning streak to 20 matches.

The No. 3 Williams advanced to the quarterfinal against 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens, who reached her first major quarterfinals with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win over Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia.

Defending champion and No. 1 Victoria Azarenka also advanced with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Elena Vesnina.

Next up for Azarenka is Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

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