Venus Williams Only American Left In Field

By ESPN

Back on Tuesday, when there were 20 Americans still alive in singles, this Australian Open seemed full of possibilities.

When the second week dawns on Sunday, there will be a solitary U.S. player left in the top half of the men's and women's draws: ageless Venus Williams.

Technically, she's 36 years old, but the fact she remains a usual suspect at the back end of Grand Slams is a tribute to the zest she continues to bring to the game.

On Friday, Williams played her best match so far, wrecking Duan Ying-Ying, 6-1, 6-0 in a third-round match utterly devoid of drama.

It was over in 59 minutes, and Williams won 61 of 96 points. This was no random qualifier or an overmatched wildcard, this was China's fifth-ranked player riding her best Grand Slam result ever.

"I was lucky to have more experience today," Williams said afterward. "I'm happy to be in fourth round against a player who is playing really, really well."

This is Williams' easiest win at the Australian Open in four years since she beat Galina Voskoboeva in the first-round action in 2013 by the same score.

Willams, the No. 13 seed, next plays Mona Barthel, a match that could vault her into her ninth Australian Open quarterfinal.

Asked how it felt to reach her 10th fourth round here, Venus smiled.

"Oh, yay!" she said. "It's good. It's never enough. I've been in the fourth round before. I've tasted it before and it's always a great feeling because it means, hey, I have an opportunity for the quarterfinals.

"That's what I'm going to go for."

Murray Beats Querrey to Advance

Sam Querrey is the only American man to beat a No. 1-ranked player at a Grand Slam in 15 years.

Last year at Wimbledon, the 29-year-old Californian ended Novak Djokovic's Open-era record of 30 consecutive major match wins. That helped create an easier path for eventual champion Andy Murray.

On Friday, Querrey wasn't as successful against Murray, who wrested the No.1 ranking from Djokovic at the end of last year.

Murray was a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 winner and advanced to the fourth round where he'll play Mischa Zverev of Germany, a four-set winner over Malek Jaziri. If results go with the seedings, Murray could have a quarterfinal against Kei Nishikori. The fifth-seeded Nishikori beat Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

"Hopefully, I can keep it going," said Murray, who was recently knighted.

In terms of comfort and safety, this was the cleanest match Murray has played at the Australian Open. He was unimpressive in an opening-round victory over Russian teenager Andrey Rublev and rolled his right ankle in the second round. Against Querrey, Murray's ankle didn't seem to be a factor.

With Thursday's shocking departure of the No. 2-seeded Djokovic, no one man came into Friday's Australian Open play hotter than Jack Sock. In his first 10 matches of 2017, Sock remarkably managed to get to match point every single time. That included a 6-0 record in ATP World Tour events, plus a 3-1 exhibition mark at the Hopman Cup in Perth.

Of course, no one probably was more fatigued than the No. 23 seed when he reached the third round here.

Not surprisingly, Sock looked a little leg-weary in losing to No. 12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-7 (8), 6-3. Tsonga stroked 73 winners and saw his serve broken only once in a match that ran 3 hours, 33 minutes.

The 31-year-old Frenchman is now 3-0 against Sock in his career. Tsonga will take on Daniel Evans of Great Britain who upset Australian favorite Bernard Tomic in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3).

"I'm really happy the way I played," Tsonga said. "Sometimes my mind is going away, but I try to be focused on the game. Today I played well."

This is Tsonga's 10th trip Down Under, and he has made the fourth round eight times, and went as far as the final in 2008.