After a week of thrilling match-ups and shock results, the fourth round of the Australian Open has arrived.

Just 16 players are left in the tournament, ready to fight tooth and nail to triumph at the Rod Laver Arena.

GiveMeSport Women takes a look at the three most exciting match-ups in the fourth round.

Ashleigh Barty vs Amanda Anisimova

Barty, the world number one, is currently in scintillating form. Following a successful 2021, which included titles at the Melbourne Open, Miami Open, Stuttgart Open, Cincinnati Open and Wimbledon, the 25-year-old began 2022 with victory at the Adelaide International.

With the home crowd behind her, Barty has crushed all three of her opponents in the Australian Open so far.

She eased past Lesia Tsurenko 6-0, 6-1 in her opening match, before comfortably beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1. Barty then defeated Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-3 to progress to the fourth round.

It would be fair to say that Barty has not really been tested at the Australian Open so far, but that looks certain to change tomorrow.

The top seed will come up against Anisimova, who has already stunned defending champion Naomi Osaka and Olympic champion Belinda Bencic. Can she pull off another upset, this time against the favourite to win the entire tournament?

Barbora Krejcikova vs Victoria Azarenka

Of the 16 players remaining, Victoria Azarenka is the only one to have previously triumphed at the Australian Open. In fact, she’s done it twice, winning the Grand Slam in 2012 and 2013.

It’s often been thought the 32-year-old is past her peak – the former world number one is now 25th in the rankings. But she has been electric at the Australian Open so far, dropping just nine games across three matches.

Her opponents would not be considered walkovers, either. After a first round victory against Panna Udvardy, Azarenka got past Jil Teichmann and Elina Svitolina.

She will play Krejcikova next, the current world number four who earned her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros last year.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed a slightly easier path to the fourth round, defeating Andrea Petkovic, Xiyu Wang and Jeļena Ostapenko. But Krejcikova will still be a formidable opponent for Azarenka, making it impossible to guess who will emerge victorious.

Iga Świątek vs Sorana Cîrstea

Cîrstea has been one of the surprise packages of this year’s Australian Open. Ranked 38th in the world, she stunned Petra Kvitová in the opening round, before racking up wins against Kristína Kučová and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The 31-year-old will come up against the in-form Świątek, who has quietly gone about her business to put herself in contention for her second Grand Slam title.

Świątek is yet to drop a set at the Australian Open, defeating Harriet Dart, Rebecca Peterson and Daria Kasatkina.

As one of the best young players on the WTA Tour, it would be a shock if the 20-year-old Świątek lost to Cîrstea, but her opponent has been known to spring a surprise.