Venus Williams trounces German qualifier Mona Barthel in straight sets to secure Australian Open quarterfinal berth

Former Australian Open champion Venus Williams continued her winning streak at the Australian Open as she defeated Germany’s Mona Barthel in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals for the ninth time in her career.

Barthel, the German qualifier, provided a tough challenge for Williams on Rod Laver Arena but the American 13th seed kept up her record of not having dropped a set in the tournament, eventually winning 6-3, 7-5.

“This is what you do all the hard work in the off-season for. It’s wonderful to be in an opportunity to advance even further. I love it. It’s such a blessing,” said Williams.

“I think I was born to play this game, I really do. I’ve been blessed enough to do something I love and I think this was my calling because I grew so big and so tall and I can cover the court and hit it hard. I was meant to do this.” 

Williams is slated to play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals after the Russian went past her country-mate  Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-3 in her fourth-round match.