Australian Open: Sixth seed Karolina Pliskova battles into last 16

Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova celebrates beating compatriot Lucie Safarova in their women's singles third round match on day six of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 20, 2018. Pic/AFP

Karolina Pliskova outmuscled fellow Czech Lucie Safarova to make the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday in a testing two-set encounter. The tattooed sixth seed, looking to win her first Grand Slam, came through the tight match on Margaret Court Arena against her 29th seeded compatriot 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 in 1hr 37mins.

"It was a tough match, it always is against Lucie," said Pliskova, who made the quarter-finals last year. "I'm happy I held my serve in the last game, It's a good sign because my serve is the most important key for me." She will next play either American Bernarda Pera or another Czech Barbora Strycova who clash later.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go