Murray impressed by underdog Robert

Murray would have expected to play either tall American John Isner or Philipp Kohlschreiber in the last 16, but instead it will be Robert, who took the German’s place in the draw when he pulled out through injury.

Robert, ranked 119th, initially lost in the final round of qualifying and is the first lucky loser to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park.

The 33-year-old had never previously been beyond the second round of a grand slam, while in his first match of the year in Brisbane three weeks ago he lost 6-2 6-2 to British No 3 James Ward.

Murray said: “If he’s the first person to do it, it’s obviously a big achievement.

“I know him a little bit from when I was coming through the Futures and Challengers circuits. Obviously that was quite a while ago now.

“But it’s good to see. He’s 33 years old. It could be easy to stop playing if you’re not in the top hundred or necessarily making a great living.

“But it does show if you stick at it, you’re professional, and when your chance comes you take it, you can do great things. Great for him. Good for tennis as well.

“He’s played six matches already. He’ll be match-tight, that’s for sure.”

Robert’s entry into the draw could scarcely have been more last-minute, with the Frenchman finding out he was playing Aljaz Bedene only 10 minutes before the match.

Robert won that one in straight sets and has dropped only one set on his way to the last 16.

In the third round he beat fellow lucky loser Martin Klizan to guarantee himself a pay day of more than £72,000.

Robert, though, said with a smile: “I’m not checking the prize money. I’m not checking the rankings or points, because when I do this, then I’m losing.”

The match will once again be played on Hisense Arena, Murray’s third trip to Melbourne Park’s second court this tournament.

Novak Djokovic is prepared for another epic when he plays Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.

Their fourth-round clash at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, which Djokovic won 12-10 in the fifth set after five hours, was arguably the match of the season.

It was also the match that convinced Wawrinka he belonged with the likes of Djokovic at the top of the game.

He went on to have the best season of his career, beating Murray at the US Open to reach his first grand slam semi-final, where he again pushed Djokovic to five sets.

“I have to be ready to play another 12-10 in the fifth like last year,” said Djokovic. “I know that he’s playing the tennis of his life in the last 15 months.

“He’s a top-10 player now. He’s established himself at the top level. He won against some top guys in the big tournaments.

“He is confident. You can feel that mentally, when he comes to the court, he believes in himself more. He can win against the top guys in the later stages of events.

“So you cannot expect a clear favourite in that match.”

Wawrinka won the battle of the one-handed backhands to beat Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-3 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/5) and reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second time.

Third seed David Ferrer made his ninth straight grand slam quarter-final, coming from a set down to defeat unorthodox German Florian Mayer 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 6-2 6-1.

Favourite Serena loses in Melbourne

Ana Ivanovic ‘broke a spell’ to post a magical win over Serena Williams in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Ivanovic had never won a set against Williams in four previous meetings while the world No 1 went into the clash on a 25-match winning run and as the huge title favourite.

But Ivanovic fought back from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 to thunderous applause from Rod Laver Arena.

The 26-year-old reached the Australian Open final in 2008 and followed up by winning her maiden grand slam title at the French Open the same year to become world No 1.

Great things were predicted but the weight of expectation was too much for Ivanovic at such a young age and she had managed only one more grand slam quarter-final.

This was without question her best grand slam victory since winning Roland Garros, and she was nerveless serving it out to love.

She said: “I actually believed. I had some confidence coming into the match. I really did certain things extremely well and I kept her under pressure, I felt, throughout the whole match. I just stayed in the moment physically. I didn’t think much about the occasion and who I was playing, because it can get overwhelming.

“I had to break a spell, fourth round, and what better place to do it than here against such a champion?”