Serena Williams has gone through to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after a thrilling match-up with world number 1, Simona Halep, finishing 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.The 37-year-old American showed why she is the bookies’ favourite to win the Grand Slam, despite only being seeded 16th, after a nail-biting three-setter in Melbourne.Williams exploded out of the blocks managing to break Halep’s serve on multiple occasions as she blitzed through the first se in just 20 minutes.The 27-year-old Romanian then reminded us why she is the world’s number one in the second set after she broke Williams’ serve and tied up the game.Halep was forced to play deep behind the baseline as Williams’ barraged her with furious shots.The Romanian managed to keep her cool, however, and play her own game, forcing Williams’ into energy-sapping rallies with a vast number of shots finding the corners of the court which prompted a deciding set.Williams’ showed her tenacity and will power as she managed to keep the Romanian at bay despite her ruthless attacking onslaught. The 37-year-old then managed to save three break points in a crucial game at the halfway point of the final set.The 23-time Grand Slam champion then managed to gain some composure and held on to her service games with relative ease. Williams was able to close out the game and the crowd erupted as she reached the 12th Australian Open quarter-final of her career.Arguably the funniest moment of the match actually came before a ball had even been hit, though.As you can see below, Williams was filmed emerging out on court, only to realise the announcer was actually calling out her opponent.

Despite wearing headphones, she was able to hear the announcer say 'world number one' and quickly realised she had jumped the gun a bit, spinning around to head back down the tunnel.

Luckily, it didn't appear to affect her preparations too significantly as she came through Monday's battle victorious ans now has her eyes set on equalling Margaret Court’s incredible all-time Grand Slam record in Australia.