Navratilova said she expects the American to equal her total of 18 Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open starting in Melbourne this month and go on to better Graf's record of 22.

In what could be a dress rehearsal for the Australian Open final, Williams won a close first set then edged Azarenka in the second to win 6-4, 7-5 in 98 minutes.

Nadal's 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over

It was only the second time in 10 attempts that Ivanovic has beaten the 33-year-old Williams, who has not won a title since October 2012.

The Spaniard has never previously won an ATP World Tour title in the first week of the season, but he is on course to do so this time after seeing off Gulbis, the only other seeded player left in the draw.

India will host the first Wimbledon tennis event outside the UK as 11-time-Tour winner Tim Henman will be in Delhi and Mumbai later this month to launch 'The Road to Wimbledon' with a series of coaching clinics.

Murray lost 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Florian Mayer, the world number 40 from Germany, who seemed more surprised than anyone at how the contest turned around.

The Spaniard believes that treatment on his troublesome knees may prolong his career, but admits that the delay in restarting work during the off season has reduced his chances of regaining the Australian Open title in two weeks time.

The 32-year-old won only one title in an injury-hit 2013, leading many tennis fans to wonder whether he would add to his record tally of 17 Slams.

The former world number one hurt her shoulder during training and decided to pull out of Brisbane to avoid the risk of further damage.