Russian world number 56 Ekaterina Makarova knocked out Serena Williams today as she loses her fourth round match with 6-2 6-3 defeat at Melbourne Park.
The 13-times grand slam champion was a picture of torment throughout, serving up seven double-faults and spraying 37 unforced errors to lose the match in 82 minutes.
Makarova, the lowest-ranked player to reach the last 16, absorbed Williams’s firepower and returned it with interest, firing several sweetly struck winners on important points.
Williams saved three match points on serve, but pushed a backhand wide on the fourth to end the American’s bid for a sixth title at Melbourne Park.
Makarova’s win snapped a 17-match winning streak in Melbourne for Williams, who won the 2009-10 titles, but missed last year’s tournament due to injury.
Williams’s last defeat at the Australian Open was by Jelena Jankovic, who beat her in the quarter-finals in 2008.
The win secured the Russian her first grand slam quarter-final, where she will face either compatriot Maria Sharapova or Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, who play in the evening
match.