Novak Djokovic will resume his title defense when he faces Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2014 on Tuesday 3 a.m. EST at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Djokovic, who is coming off a straight-set victory over Fabio Fognini in the fourth round of the tournament, will look to continue his mastery of Wawrinka, but it could be easier said than done for the second-seeded player of this year's Aussie Open.
The 26-year-old Serbian tennis ace defeated the eighth-seeded Wawrinka in their last 14 meetings, but Wawrinka previously proved that he can push his heavily-favored opponents to the limits.
Wawrinka almost pulled off a stunning victory in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open 2013. The match lasted for five hours and two minutes before Djokovic escaped with a 12-10 win in the fifth set of their epic encounter.
Their match in the US Open 2013 semifinals also went into full distance with Djokovic pulling off a hard-earned 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their match that took four hours and nine minutes to finish.
"I don't know what to expect," Wawrinka said on his upcoming match against Djokovic via ESPN. "He's an amazing player, especially in the Grand Slams. I watched him a little bit today. He's really, really tough to beat. I didn't find the solution to beat him. I need to play my best tennis to have a chance to beat him."
Ferrer (3) vs. Berdych (7)
Meanwhile, third-seeded David Ferrer and seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych will look to book a spot in this year's Aussie Open semifinals when they collide in the third match of the 7 p.m. EST session today.
Ferrer dropped the first set of his fourth-round encounter with Florian Mayer before sweeping the next three sets with ease to remain in contention.
Berdych, on the other hand, was hardly challenged in his fourth-round assignment, defeating 19th seed Kevin Anderson in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. The 28-year-old Czech has yet to drop a set in this year's tournament.
Li (4) vs. Pennetta (28)
In the women's side, Li Na will also try to secure a place in the semifinals of the women's tournament, but 28th-seeded Flavia Pennetta could be a major hurdle for the Chinese tennis ace.
Pennetta will make her first-ever Australian Open quarterfinal appearance after scoring a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 upset victory over Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.
The 31-year-old Italian will look to repeat her performance against Li, who has shown signs of vulnerability in the tournament.
Li, a two-time Australian Open finalist, was almost eliminated in the fourth round by 26th seed Lucie Safarova before escaping with a gut-wrenching 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 victory.
Online live streaming of all quarterfinal matches are available here.
Video highlights are also available on this link.
For the full schedule of the Day 9 of the tournament, you can check the official Australian Open 2014 website.
