MELBOURNE, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Men's third seed Carlos Alcaraz and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic won through on Sunday to set up a blockbuster quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
Second seed Alexander Zverev and women's defending champion Arnya Sabalenka also won their round of 16 matches in very hot conditions in Melbourne.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz was ahead 7-5, 6-1 when Jack Draper retired amid fierce afternoon sun on Rod Laver Arena.
Fifteenth seed Draper had spent 13 hours on court in his previous three matches, which all went to five-sets, but it finally took its toll and he labored around the court before pulling the pin.
"It's not the way I wanted to win. But obviously I'm happy to play another quarterfinal here in Australia," Alcaraz said. "But a little bit sad for Jack. He's really a nice person, he doesn't deserve to get injured."
Alcaraz, 21, is aiming to become the youngest men's player to win all four majors in the Open era, but he will need to firstly get past Djokovic as they write the latest chapter in a growing rivalry.
37-year-old Djokovic overwhelmed 24th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in two hours and 39 minutes.
It was his second straight three-set romp having been pushed to four sets in his opening two matches as Djokovic eyes a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.
"I appreciate [the fans'] presence and support and I'll see you next round," said a terse Djokovic, who did not take questions in his on-court interview.
Zverev overcame a second set stutter to race past 14th seed Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The 27-year-old German's bid for a maiden Grand Slam title will continue in the last eight against 12th seed Tommy Paul, who lost just three games in his thrashing of Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Zverev will start strong favorite, but has lost both his previous two matches to the American.
"He's an incredible top player and has improved tremendously and I'm happy to be in the quarterfinals," Zverev said.
In the women's draw, top seed Sabalenka continued her march towards a third consecutive Australian Open title after a 6-1, 6-2 whipping of 14th seed Mirra Andreeva.
It was Sabalenka's 18th straight victory in Melbourne and she remains well on course for a hat-trick of titles, a feat that only five women have achieved in tournament history, with the last being Martina Hingis in 1999.
Sabalenka will next play 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat 18th seed Donna Vekic in straight sets.
"I'm super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets. Super happy with the level I played in those conditions," said Sabalenka, who romped to victory in 62 minutes.
Sabalenka is on a semifinal collision course with third seed Coco Gauff, who overcame early struggles to beat Switzerland's Belinda Bencic 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.
The former US Open finalist entered having not lost a set in eight matches this season, but that streak ended when Bencic seized on Gauff's shaky serve to draw first blood.
But Gauff turned it around and wore down the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist to prevail in two hours and 26 minutes.
The American set up a quarterfinal against Spain's Paula Badosa, who earlier beat Olga Danilovic 6-1, 7-6 (2).
"I thought [the] first set, she played great tennis and it was tough for me to be on the offensive," said Gauff, who has won 13 straight matches.
"I just played more aggressively in the second set and then also the third set. But overall, I'm happy with how I played." ■
