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31 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 JANUARY 2019 SPORTS TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2019 SEVENTIME champion Ser- ena Williams comforted oppo- nent Dayana Yastremska after powering past the teenager in- to the Australian Open fourth round. Williams beat the 18-year-old Ukrainian 6-2 6-1 in one hour and seven minutes and did not drop a service game. "You're gonna make it, don't cry", Williams, 37, told a tear- ful Yastremska following her victory. The American will face Ro- manian world number one Si- mona Halep next after she beat Serena's older sister Venus. "I thought she did really amazing," Williams said when asked about the future of Yas- tremska, who was not even born when the American won the first of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles in 1999. "She came out swinging and to be so young, she came out ready to go. When I was young I played against so many peo- ple and everyone I faced was intimidating and not easy. You just go out and swing and do the best you can." Williams is favourite to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title in Melbourne and her performance in the third round showed why. She put youngster Yastrem- ska under immediate pressure, breaking in the first game and winning four games in a row. The occasion seemed to have got the better of the Ukrainian - a promising talent who could only provide brief glimpses of her ability and could not hide inconsistencies with her serve. But Williams was ruthless and looks firmly on course to win a record-extending eighth Australian Open title. With defending champion Caroline Wozniacki exiting on Friday and rivals Naomi Osaka - the fourth seed - and Elina Svitolina - the sixth seed - being forced to fight back to scrape their way into the fourth round, it is so far falling into place for Williams. Williams comforts teenager after victory Teenager Dayana Yastremska struggled to deal with the occasion but Williams offered words of comfort at the end NOVAK Djokovic dropped his first set of the Australian Open after becoming frustrated that the floodlights were turned on during his daytime win over Canadian Denis Shapovalov. The Serb clinched a 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-0 win over the 19-year- old to book his spot in the last 16 and cement his place at the top of the world rankings. "There was no sense to turn the lights on when we have an- other four hours of daylight," Djokovic said. "It was completely unneces- sary." Djokovic had led by two sets and 4-1 in the third before Shapovalov, 19, won five games in a row to go into a fourth set. But the 14-time Grand Slam winner quickly reasserted con- trol, wrapping up the final set in just 26 minutes. Djokovic, who regained the top ranking in November, was guaranteed to retain the posi- tion ahead of Rafael Nadal by reaching the last 16 in Mel- bourne. The six-time champion is aiming to move clear of Roy Emerson and Roger Federer in terms of all-time triumphs with another win at Melbourne Park next Sunday. He will play Russian 15th seed Daniil Medvedev in the last 16. Like Shapovalov, 22-year-old Medvedev is another of the game's rising stars and he will be competing in his first Grand Slam fourth-round match. He beat Belgian 21st seed Da- vid Goffin 6-2 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to reach the second week without dropping a set. Djokovic had produced a su- perb all-round display to lead by two sets and a break after an hour and a half - with a straight-forward victory look- ing a formality. Shapovalov, seeded 25th, had struggled to cope with the oc- casion of facing Djokovic for the first time, making 40 un- forced errors and facing seven break points up to that stage. However, the match took an unexpected twist when Djok- ovic's game suddenly crum- bled. The Serb had become dis- tracted at the start of the set by the Rod Laver Arena flood- lights being turned on - despite glaring sunshine still streaming on to the court at about 5.15pm local time - and asked for them to be switched off. Although he moved into a 4-1 lead, he still seemed slightly unsettled and Shapovalov took full advantage. "Did you guys see the balls well?" he asked the crowd af- terwards. "I saw them well too," he said to a huge cheer. "It was com- pletely unnecessary to turn on the lights. "The explanation I got was for TV reasons. I hope the viewers enjoyed it." Djokovic's mood darkened further when he was given a time violation before the first of three break points at 4-4, saving two before a double fault left Shapovalov to suc- cessfully serve out the set. The Serb took a brief break off court and it enabled him to return refocused. He set the tone by breaking in the first game, going on to lose just 11 points - including two match points - before another double fault from Shapovalov ended the match. "I just tried to weather the storm," Djokovic said. "Denis played well and I made unforced errors to let him back in the match. "He showed his quality and why we will see a lot of him in the future." Djokovic beats Shapovalov to advance Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon and the US Open last year