Australian Open: Day ten preview

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship. Photo / AP

Novak Djokovic hunts down Andre Agassi's record, Milos Raonic aims for Canadian history, the defending champion Stan Wawrinka takes on the king of five setters and the Williams sisters are on a collision course as Michael Burgess previews day ten of the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic vs Milos Raonic
Can anyone stop Novak? The fall of Rafa Nadal yesterday - who in the past had a mental edge over the Serbian - eliminates one of the most likely candidates. Djokovic looks in supreme form and is calm, confident and composed off the court. Another semi final appearance here would be the 25th time Djokovic has reached the last four of a grand slam - only one behind Andre Agassi and within sight of Ivan Lendl (28).

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Raonic is one of tour's rising stars, with a decent past and a huge future. The big serving Canadian is a close friend of Djokovic off the court but that will be put to one side today. The odds are against him though - Raonic hasn't beaten a top ten player at a grand slam since 2011.

Head to head: Djokovic leads 4-0
Tip: Djokovic in four sets.

Venus Williams vs Madison Keys
A classic match up across two generations. Keys was watching Venus play when she was in primary school; now she gets to stare her down across the net. Williams is enjoying something of a renaissance after a poor record in majors over the last few years. She impressed many with her win over Agniezka Radwanska, showing real physical resilience after the Pole took the second set. Keys is an excitement machine - the world No35 hits the ball as hard as anyone in the women's game and is a dangerous opponent. She's also coached by Lindsay Davenport, who enjoyed a classic rivalry with Williams in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Head to head: Williams leads 1-0
Tip: Williams in straight sets.

Stan Wawrinka vs Kei Nishikori
Shapes as the match of the day. Both of these players tend to produce entertaining matches - so putting them together should be dynamite. Nishikori had a famous win over Wawrinka at the 2014 US Open, as he reached the final in New York. However the Japanese player admits he is struggling with the new found pressure and expectation that comes with being world No5. He dropped sets against both Steve Johnson and Ivan Dodig, before a comfortable fourth round win over David Ferrer.
Meanwhile Wawrinka has been wrestling his own demons at this tournament, with the mantle of defending champion sitting uncomfortably on his shoulders. Expect five sets, which would favour Nishikori, who has lost just two of the 12 matches to go the distance in his career.
Head to head: Wawrinka leads 2-1
Tip: Nishikori.

Serena Williams vs Dominika Cibulkova
Williams has had vulnerable moments over the last week - finding herself in difficult situations in her matches, only to go up a gear and change the momentum. The American is the hot favourite, and should remain on course to break her (relatively) long finals drought in Melbourne.
We can't completely discount Cibulkova, who made the final here last year and is no longer daunted by the big occasion but the Czech has yet to beat Williams in four attempts.
Head to head: Williams leads 4-0
Tip: Williams in three sets.

Stat of the day: If Raonic prevails today, he will become just the second Canadian man in history to beat a current world No1, following Daniel Nestor's victory over Stefan Edberg in 1992.