Williams sisters both win at the Open

Sisters Serena and Venus Williams and Polish sixth seed Agnieszka Radwnaska have all advanced to the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Polish sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in her match against Varvara Lepchenko of the USA at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Saturday, Jan. 24 ,2015. The Australian Open Australia's foremost tennis event is held annually over the last fortnight in January. (AAP Image/ David Crosling) NO ARCHIVING EDITORIAL ONLY

World No.1 Serena Williams has drawn inspiration from her older sister and hero, joining Venus by reeling in a one-set deficit to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Venus got the ball rolling for the Williams family on Saturday, hanging tough to beat Italy's Camila Giorgi 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 to set up a big clash with Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.

While Venus was getting the job done against Giorgi, Serena was in early trouble against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.

But after noting on the scoreboard that Venus had turned her fortunes around, Serena was able to do likewise in a 4-6 6-2 6-0 victory over the No.26 seed.

"She has so much motivation and at the same time she is super relaxed," said Serena of Venus.

"It's really encouraging to see.

""I thought `wow, she's been through so much with her illness, with everything that she's had to do, that if she can do it, I'm perfectly healthy and I'm fine, then I should be able to do it too.

"It just got me so motivated and really helped me push through those next two sets at a rapid rate."

Venus has won seven major titles, the most recent coming at Wimbledon in 2008.

Since then the 34-year-old has battled an auto-immune condition known as Sjogren's syndrome, with Saturday's win over Giorgi marking the first time since 2011 that she had advanced to the last 16 at a grand slam event.

"I've always believed in ability, but sometimes you don't get the results from whatever reason," said Venus.

"But I've won big - it's not like I haven't done it before.

"For me, I like to win titles, whether it's a smaller event or a big event, that's what I play for.

"So yes, it's great to be in the second week.

"But is fourth round my goal when I come to these tournaments? No."

The elder Williams will now take on Radwanska, who continued her relentless charge through the draw with a 6-0 7-5 win over American Varvara Lepchenko.

The 2012 Wimbledon runner-up has dropped just nine games in her first three matches, claiming a bagel in each, to send a clear warning to her rivals as the championship heads into a second week.

Serena's opponent in the round of 16 is Garbine Muguruza, the woman who sent her crashing out of last year's French Open in the second round.

The 24th-seeded Spaniard beat Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky 6-3 4-6 6-0.

Also through to the last 16 is last year's Australian Open runner-up, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova, who downed French No.19 seed Alize Cornet 7-5 6-2.

Hobart International runner-up Madison Brengle continued her golden run in Australia, beating Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-2 in an all-American encounter to reach the last 16 at a major for the first time.


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