Andy Murray joins Johanna Konta in Australian Open quarter-finals

Konta is making her debut in the main draw in Melbourne, while Murray has been runner-up four times

Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for 32 years by beating Ekaterina Makarova at the Australian Open.

Konta, making her debut in the main draw, fought back to beat the 21st seed 4-6 6-4 8-6 in the fourth round.

The last British woman to play in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam was Jo Durie, at Wimbledon in 1984.

Andy Murray also reached the last eight, with a 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over Australian Bernard Tomic.

It means Britain has male and female representation in the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time for 39 years.

Sue Barker, Robin Drysdale and John Lloyd all reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in 1977.

Murray's victory came less than 48 hours after he rushed to hospital to visit father-in-law Nigel Sears.

Sears, the coach of Ana Ivanovic, was in Rod Laver Arena on Saturday when he collapsed and had to be carried away on a stretcher.

Women's quarter-final draw

Serena Williams (USA) (1) v Maria Sharapova (Rus) (5)

Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) (4) v Carla Suarez Navarro (Esp) (10)

Angelique Kerber (Ger) (7) v Victoria Azarenka (Blr) (14)

Johanna Konta (GB) v Shuai Zhang (Chn)

Men's quarter-final draw

Novak Djokovic (Srb) (1) v Kei Nishikori (Jpn) (7)

Roger Federer (Sui) (3) v Tomas Berdych (Cze) (6)

Gaels Monfils (Fra) (23) v Milos Raonic (Can) (13)

David Ferrer (Esp) (8) v Andy Murray (GB) (2)

'Mentally, emotionally and physically draining'

The 24-year-old Konta, ranked 47 in the world, will face Shuai Zhang in the last eight after the Chinese qualifier beat 15th seed Madison Keys 3-6 6-3 6-3.

"It was mentally, emotionally and physically draining," said Konta, after a match that lasted three hours and four minutes.

"Those four minutes were important, believe me. I left it all out there on court, ran after every single ball and was fortunate enough to capitalise on some opportunities."

World number 133 Zhang made the most of an injury to Keys' left hip, which greatly hampered the American's movement from the start of the second set.

After Keys was rendered almost one-legged and periodically tearful, Zhang's game simultaneously disintegrated. But it was the Chinese player who stumbled to victory.

Zhang, 27, had lost all 14 of her previous Grand Slam matches before this tournament and was on the verge of retiring.

'The last few days have been very tough'

Murray has won the past five of his 18 matches against Ferrer

Murray has reached his seventh consecutive quarter-final in Melbourne, but has been beaten in the final four times.

The Scot, who said he had not been at his best against Tomic, will now play eighth seed David Ferrer.

"Bernard fought right to the end and made it very tough for me, but I was just able to make a few more balls," said the British number one.

"It was a bit of a scrappy match, a bit up and down."

Asked about his father-in-law's illness, Murray added: "The last few days have been very tough. A lot of emotions, things changing all the time in my head, so it has been stressful.

"Tennis is like the last thing on your mind at those moments - you are just more concerned about your family. Me and Nigel are very close."

Analysis

BBC Radio 5 live tennis correspondent Russell Fuller:

"Strength in depth may continue to elude British tennis, but consistent success in the biggest events is doing wonders for the sport's year-round profile.

"Andy Murray's sustained excellence in the Grand Slams has inspired many; the team dynamic of the Davis Cup will hopefully have caught the imagination of many others; and now Britain has a female player who is promising to become a regular in the second week of a Grand Slam.

"Can Johanna Konta go further still? Facing a qualifier ranked 133 in the world, who had never won a Grand Slam main draw match in 14 attempts before this week, sounds a dream draw - even if Zhang is a former top-30 player who is a title winner on the WTA Tour.

"Konta has the benefit of having played many more high-level matches in the past six months - but how will both players deal with the occasion on Wednesday? There is a big jump from even the fourth round to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, and neither has been there before."

Doubling up

Britain's Jamie Murray, Andy's older brother, made it through to two quarter-finals in a day at Melbourne Park.

He made the men's last eight for the first time as he and Brazilian Bruno Soares beat Briton Dominic Inglot and Swede Robert Lindstedt 6-3 6-4.

He also reached the last eight in the mixed doubles, partnering Katarina Srebotnik to a 6-4 6-4 win over Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah.

Murray and Soares will play 13th seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram after they beat American twins Bob and Mike Bryan 3-6 6-3 6-4.