HIGHLIGHTS-Tennis-Day nine at the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Jan 24 ( Reuters) - Highlights from day nine of the Australian Open tennis championships on Tuesday (all times GMT):

0008 VENUS OPENS FIRST DAY OF QUARTER-FINALS

Overnight rain has cleared at Melbourne Park with brilliant sunshine on Rod Laver Arena, where the quarter-final action is focused. The temperature is 20C and not expected to get much warmer, with humidity at around 60 percent.

The 36-year-old Venus Williams, the oldest woman left in the draw, opens the day's play against Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

ORDER OF PLAY

ROD LAVER ARENA

13-Venus Williams (U.S.) v 24-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)

Not before 0200:

Coco Vandeweghe (U.S.) v 7-Garbine Muguruza ( Spain)

4-Stan Wawrinka ( Switzerland) v 12-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ( France)

Not before 0800:

Mischa Zverev ( Germany) v 17-Roger Federer (Switzerland)

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Federer ready to restore order against Zverev

Top surviving seed Raonic safely into last eight

Djokovic hole gives Dimitrov long-awaited chance

Nadal thrilled by return to grand slam quarter-finals

Pliskova into last eight, hungry for grand slam success

Serve-and-volley tennis rises from the dust in Melbourne

Age not just a number as Super Serena marches on

Ecstatic Lucic-Baroni ends 18-year wait with quarter-final spot

Konta eyes childhood dream after setting up Serena clash

Serena grinds down dogged Strycova to reach quarter-finals

(Compiled by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Peter Rutherford)