Williams digs deep to avoid the injury exodus

The way the Australian Open is unfolding, it is more noteworthy when seeds survive than when they succumb, and Venus Williams – favourite to win the women's singles title – is counting her blessings after a difficult victory over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova yesterday.

Williams has tendonitis in her left knee, but has so far avoided joining the exodus of injured players, who include her sister, Serena. She showed signs of discomfort in the first set yesterday and lost the first four games to Hantuchova, ranked at 32. But the second seed's condition visibly improved as the match progressed and she rallied to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-4.

The reigning Wimbledon and US Open champion, who faces Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria in the fourth round, said: "After the first set I started to feel more comfortable and I'm so happy to have survived."

Hantuchova outplayed her in the first set after breaking her serve twice, but the American snapped back to attention in the second, winning eight games straight to gain an early advantage in the third. In the final set, the pair swapped service breaks before Williams finally served out the match after 107 minutes.

"I really enjoyed playing her; she puts a challenge to you," said Williams, who is hoping to win her third successive Grand Slam. "When you're winning easy, things seem like a piece of cake and you don't really see your flaws. But as long as there are players out there testing you and pushing you further, it helps."

Martina Hingis, the third seed, eased through to the final 16 with an effortless 6-1, 6-0 win over Germany's Barbara Rittner. Hingis achieved victory in 46 minutes, playing in only her second tournament since ankle surgery last October cost her the world No 1 ranking. She demonstrated that she had lost none of her court speed or accuracy as she produced her best performance of this week.

The three times Australian Open champion said: "They [her critics] almost counted me out but I'm still in the game. I'm still here. I'm gaining confidence each match. You could see it today. I was more aggressive, I took more chances." On paper, Hingis appears to have a smooth run to the semi-finals. She plays South Africa's Amanda Coetzer in the fourth round, and then either Martina Sucha or Adriana Serra Zanetti in the quarter-finals.

Williams remains on course for a quarter-final meeting with Monica Seles, ranked at seven, who beat Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 yesterday. Through to the fourth round with Williams, Hingis and Seles are Zanetti, who beat 11th-seeded Silvia Farina Elia 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Sucha, who defeated Asa Svensson 6-0, 6-4; and the No 15, Coetzer, who beat 17th-seeded Barbara Schett 6-3, 6-3.

In the men's competition, the No 16 seed, Thomas Johansson of Sweden, overcame the No 21, Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, while Jonas Bjorkman – Tim Henman's next opponent – ousted 12th-seeded Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Jiri Novak beat Francisco Clavet 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, while Stefan Koubek, twice a winner this week after trailing 2-0 in sets, defeated Denmark's Kristian Pless 7-6, 7-5, 6-3.

The latest departures mean that only five of the top 15 seeds remained in the draw last night. America's Taylor Dent, who was given a wild card into the tournament by organisers in the hope of luring him on to the Australian Davis Cup team, also saw his run of success ended. California-born Dent, whose father, Phil, was once the Australian No 1, went down 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to Adrian Voinea.