Novak Djokovic into quarters to face Milos Raonic

Novak Djokovic will contest his 23rd consecutive grand slam quarter-final after easing past Luxembourg journeyman Gilles Muller 6-4 7-5 7-5 at the Australian Open.

Djokovic was pushed by the 42nd-ranked Muller, a big-serving left-hander with the shots to rally with the top seed, but the four-times champion was almost bullet-proof on serve and cut the 31-year-old down repeatedly when he rushed to the net.

It wasn't until the sixth game of the third set that Muller had a chance on the Serb's serve but the former junior world number one could not take it despite four break points.

Djokovic struck a string of sumptuous winners to break Muller in the 11th game of the third set and served out the final game to love to book a quarter-final clash with Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic.

Raonic struck a blow for the next generation of male players by felling Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-7(7) 6-3 to reach his first Australian Open quarter-final.

Eighth seed Raonic became only the second Canadian to reach the last eight at Melbourne Park, nearly 50 years after Michael Belkin achieved the feat in 1968.

In a battle of big servers, Lopez coolly saved two match points in the fourth set tiebreak before sending the contest into a decider but double-faulted in the eighth game of the final set to hand Raonic the initiative.

Raonic closed it out on the third match point when Lopez pushed a shot wide.

Earlier, defending champion Stan Wawrinka breathed a sigh of relief after claiming his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

Wawrinka looked to be cruising into the last eight in Melbourne when he led Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez by two sets to love and 4-2 with a break of serve in the third.

However, the fourth seed then lost the next four games in succession and trailed 5-0 and 6-2 in a fourth-set tie-break before clinching a 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 4-6 7-6 (10/8) victory in three hours and two minutes.

Wawrinka said: "It was a real battle today. I was two sets up with a break and in the end I'm happy to get through. There was a good level of tennis in general and it's good to make one more win."

Kei Nishikori matched his career-best performance at Melbourne Park by grinding down David Ferrer 6-3 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.

Spaniard Ferrer's modus operandi has been to drag opponents into endless rallies until they succumb via fatigue or a loss of focus, but Nishikori showed himself up for the scrap and won most of the longer exchanges.

Nishikori blew two match points but closed out the third when Ferrer netted a forehand to seal the win in two hours and six minutes.

Japan's number one will meet defending champion Wawrinka for a place in the semi-finals.

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