Wins, and a spot in the quarterfinals at the 2016 Australian Open, did not come easy for top seed Novak Djokovic or No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych. The two faced their toughest tests of the tournament in the Round of 16 and both were pushed to the absolute limit, taking five sets to best their opponents.
2016 Australian Open results and bracket: Novak Djokovic, Tomas Berdych pushed to 5 sets in Round of 16
Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych were both victorious in the Round of 16, but they both had to fight through five-set marathons to get through.
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But both made it through.
Djokovic was up against Gilles Simon, the No. 14 seed for the tournament. It was a long, grueling match that he barely won, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. It was the first time Djokovic looked beatable as the heavy, heavy favorite for the entire tournament thus far.
Berdych was taking on No. 24 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, and narrowly won his match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
The grueling match was exactly what Djokovic did not need at this point in the tournament, especially given the fact that his quarterfinals opponent, No. 7 seed Kei Nishikori, breezed through his Round of 16 opponent, No. 9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Nishikori dominated Tsonga from start to finish, winning, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Roger Federer handled Belgian David Goffin, the No. 15 seed, with relative ease, winning 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. Federer, the four-time Australian Open champ, will face Berdych in the quarters.
On the women’s side, top seed Serena Williams made short work of unseeded Margarita Gasparyan to advance to the quarterfinals. There, she will take on Maria Sharapova, a longtime rival who has had little success against the world No. 1. Sharapova, the fifth seed, took down No. 12 Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 7-5, on Sunday.
Both No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro made it past their Round of 16 opponents, though both needed three sets to get through. They will face each other in the quarterfinals.
Below are the pertinent results from the seeded matches. Full results can be found here.
Men’s Singles
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 14 Gilles Simon, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
No. 3 Roger Federer def. No. 15 David Goffin, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Tomas Berdych def. No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
No. 7 Kei Nishikori def. No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Women’s Singles
No. 1 Serena Williams def. Margarita Gasparyan, 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska def. Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-7(6), 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 Maria Sharapova def. No. 12 Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 7-5
No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro def. Daria Gavrilova, 0-6, 6-3, 6-2
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