Williams crashes out in Melbourne

Serena Williams’ winning run at the Australian Open came to a shuddering halt today after she lost her fourth-round clash to Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets.

The American, seeded 12th after an injury-hit 18 months which saw her miss last year’s event in Melbourne, had not lost here since going down to Jelena Jankovic in the last eight in 2008.