Barty beats Sharapova, Nadal crushes Berdych

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World no. 2 Rafael Nadal thwarted a late comeback by Thomas Berdych to script an emphatic three-set win this afternoon at the Australian Open.

The second seed Spaniard outclassed his Czech opponent 6-0, 6-1, 7-6 in the Round of 16 matches at Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal made a blistering start in the match bagging the first two sets without burning a sweat but the third set saw Berdych coming back strongly and taking the game to the tie-breaker.

However, Nadal, who hasn't lost a set yet in the tournament so far, didn't make any mistakes, clinching the tie-breaker 7-4 in order to seal a place in the quarterfinals.

Earlier, home favorite Ashleigh Barty outclassed former world no. 1 Maria Sharapova to storm into the Australian Open quarter-finals earlier this morning on a hot day on Rod Laver Arena.

The promising Australian fourth-round Petra Kvitova, who scripted her best performance at a major since a terrifying knife attack halted her career.

15th seeded Barty, who has been in red hot form since winning seven of eight matches this year to back up a title victory in Zhuhai late last year, shattered the Russian's hopes of winning her first Grand Slam since the 2014 French Open as she notched up a hard-fought 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in front of her home fans.

Australia's Ashleigh Barty (R) congratulated by her opponent Russia's Maria Sharapova (L)during their women's singles match on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. /VCG Photo

Five-time major winner Sharapova, who made a comeback after completing a drugs ban in 2017, caused a major upset when she knocked defending champion Caroline Wozniacki out of the tournament in the third round this year.

In order to carry the momentum forward in today's match, the 30th seed came out blazing all guns and won the first set.

However, Barty clawed her way back into the game soon and clinched nine games in a row against her formidable Russian rival to win the second set and went ahead with two breaks points in the third.

Although the 2008 champion tried to make a valiant comeback Barty got the better of Sharapova in the third set too and pocketed the match.

“She is an absolute champion,” a relieved 22-year-old Barty said of Sharapova and added, “She was never going to go away. I knew I had to keep chipping away -- in a sense, trust the work we've done. I know that I can match it with the best.”

Her win makes her the third Australian player this millennium to reach the last eight in Melbourne, following Alicia Molik in 2005 and Jelena Dokic in 2009.

Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic reacts in her fourth round match against Amanda Anisimova of the United States at the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. /VCG Photo

Incidentally, Barty's next opponent Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, had beaten her previously in the final of the warm-up Sydney International this month. She sailed into the quarter-finals with an emphatic straight sets win over 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova of the Czech Republic.