Serena Williams Fights Back To Reach Australian Open Last Eight

Serena Williams avoided another Grand Slam defeat by Spain's Garbine Muguruza as she fought back to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals. The American world number one, who lost to Muguruza at last year's French Open, came through 2-6 6-3 6-2. Williams next faces Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 6-2 3-6 6-3. Defending men's champion Stan Wawrinka beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 4-6 7-6 (10-8). Madison Keys backed up her win over fourth seed Petra Kvitova by beating fellow American Madison Brengle 6-2 6-4, while Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori are among the men in action later on Monday. Sickly Serena battles on Williams was in danger of another defeat by Muguruza as the Spaniard attacked her second serve mercilessly in the early stages. The Spaniard then had six chances to break in a game of eight deuces at 1-1 in the decider but Williams clung on, despite a mid-game coughing fit. "I think I caught that bug," said the American. "I've just been sick. I've been fighting it with vitamin C and all kinds of stuff. But I just have a really bad cough." Doubles defeat for Murray Britain's Dom Inglot and Romanian partner Florin Mergea enjoyed a stunning 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan, but Jamie Murray could not join them in the last eight. Murray saw his hopes of a second Grand Slam title end as he and Australian partner John Peers were beaten in the third round. Fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo proved too strong in a 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 6-4 win on court two. Dom Inglot and Florin Mergea Dom Inglot (right) is the last remaining Briton in the men's doubles draw Britain's Bouchard in waiting British junior Katie Swan is through to the last 16 of the girls' singles, and cites Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard as her inspirations. The 15-year-old is originally from Bristol but has lived in Kansas for two years after her father moved there for work. "I'm still completely British," she told BBC Sport, with a slight US twang, before facing China's top seed Shilin Xu. "I love Sharapova and Bouchard. I love the way they're both really aggressive and they fight really hard. That's what I want to do." Quotes of the day "I would be quarterback for sure or linebacker. Oh, God, I would love to be a linebacker." Serena Williams has her eyes on a starting place in Sunday's Superbowl. "This guy's got the X-factor, so it's working out well." Dom Inglot explains why new doubles partner Florin Mergea is the right fit. "I heard a bunch of photos bursting, so I want some pictures. If I did the full split that's going to be legendary. Seriously." Victoria Azarenka heard the clicking of a thousand cameras as she fell over. "I have to compensate my height with something, so I just put a lot of energy in my tennis. I go for my winners and I'm just not like a typical small player that I'm just defensive. I'm going for it and that's my tennis." Dominika Cibulkova talks up the benefits of being 5ft 3in in a world of 6ft opponents. Selfie of the day Rod Laver, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court Australian 24-time Grand Slam singles' champion Margaret Court (right) snaps a selfie of legendary proportions, with compatriots Rod Laver, Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Ken Rosewall (left to right). They have 50 Grand Slam singles' titles between them. Australian Open 2015 Dates: 19 January-1 February Venue: Melbourne Coverage: Commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, selected live text commentaries and daily reports on the BBC Sport website Source:bbc