Double boost for Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki's chances of landing a maiden grand slam crown at the Australian Open improved on Friday after she advanced to the fourth round before watching one of her main rivals crash out.
The top-seeded Dane beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-4 6-3 in the opening match on Rod Laver Arena, with the second providing the tournament's biggest shock to date as 11th seed Justine Henin lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Henin's lowly seeding can be largely attributed to an elbow injury which saw her miss the latter part of 2010, but having impressed in her first two matches she was expected to come close to landing an eighth major crown and second at Melbourne Park.
But she met a tough opponent in Kuznetsova, who conquered some nervy moments to edge through 6-4 7-6 (10/8) and set up a last-16 meeting with French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
Kuznetsova twice served for the match, at 5-4 and 6-5, before it went to a tie-break in which she threw away three match points before finally clinching it on the fourth.
Wozniacki had a few troubles of her own before seeing off diminutive Slovakian Cibulkova, who beat her in Sydney last week. The world number 32 briefly looked capable of repeating that upset when she broke for a 2-1 lead in the first set, only to immediately lose her own serve to love.
That was one of four consecutive breaks before Wozniacki finally took control of the contest with another break in the 10th game to seal the opening set. Cibulkova was not afraid to trade blows with the world number one from the back of the court, but committed far too many unforced errors, the 41st coming on match point as Wozniacki wrapped up the win.
Wozniacki will meet Anastasija Sevastova next following the Latvian's 6-1 6-3 defeat of Russian qualifier Vesna Manasieva.
Schiavone will present a tricky test for Kuznetsova after looking strong in her 6-0 7-6 (7/2) win against Monica Niculescu to join two other high-ranked seeds in advancing.
China's La Ni, a semi-finalist here last year, crushed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-1, while Victoria Azarenka beat Chanelle Scheepers 6-3 6-3. The pair will now meet in the last 16.
