Story highlights
- Roger Federer beats Milos Raonic to reach his 35th consecutive grand slam quarterfinal
- No. 2 seed is looking to win a fifth Melbourne crown, which would be an Open era record
- Britain's Andy Murray remains on course to face Federer in the semifinals
- The U.S. Open winner defeated France's Gilles Simon to reach the last eight
Second seed Roger Federer and world No. 3 Andy Murray both looked in fine form Monday as the grand slam-winning duo eased into the last eight of the Australian Open.
Federer is looking for an Open era-record fifth triumph at the Melbourne event and he reached a 35th consecutive grand slam quarterfinal with a 6-4 7-5 (7-4) 6-2 win against a spirited Milos Raonic of Canada.
Seventeen-time grand slam winner Federer will face seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga next after the Frenchman got the better of compatriot Richard Gasquet, winning 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-2.
U.S. Open champion Murray looks set to be Federer's semifinal opponent. The Briton, beaten by Federer in the 2010 final, recorded a fourth consecutive straight-sets triumph by defeating France's Gilles Simon 6-3 6-1 6-3.
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Simon struggled to display his best form following an exhausting four-and-a-half-hour win against Gael Monfils on Saturday.
"It was a painful hour-and-a-half on the court," explained Simon. "But Andy is anyway a very good player so it's always very hard to beat him.
"Without being 100 per cent you have almost no chance to do it. I just wanted to do my best at any moment. But it was getting worse and worse on the court. It was a really difficult day."
Murray, a two-time runner-up in Melbourne, will play French surprise package Jeremy Chardy in the next round. The world No. 36 came from one set down to beat Italian 21st seed Andreas Seppi 7-5 6-3 6-2 6-2.
Chardy got the better of Murray at the 2012 Cincinnati Masters and the Olympic gold medalist is wary of his unseeded foe.
"I played him quite a few times," Murray told reporters. "We grew up around the same time in juniors, know each other pretty well.
"The Cincinnati match was disappointing from my side. I normally play quite well against him. But he's playing good tennis. I mean, he's had some big wins this week. He serves well.
"He's very aggressive off his forehand. His backhand is his weaker side, for sure. He hits a lot of slice, doesn't come over it too much. He likes to come forward."
