Halep eases past, Kerber struggles into Australian Open quarters

 Melbourne [Australia]: Top seed Simona Halep and German tennis star Angelique Kerber have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after winning their respective women's singles clashes here on Monday.

Romanian tennis star Halep came through a tight first set to eventually knock out Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-3, 6-2 in a round of 16 that lasted one hour and 19 minutes.

Halep, who showed no sign of the ankle injury she suffered in the first round, will now square off with the winner of sixth seed Karolina Pliskova and 20th seed Barbora Strycova.

The world number one, who has made it to the last eight at Melbourne for the third time, is bidding to clinch his maiden Grand Slam title after securing the number one spot last October.

Kerber, on the other hand, bounced back from a set down to prevail Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a thrilling last-16 clash that lasted more than two hours.

The German tennis star will now take on America's Madison Keys for a place in the semi-finals.