Tenth seed Alicia Molik of Australia celebrates her straight-set victory over US? Venus Williams (seeded eighth) in Melbourne on Monday. Molik won 7-5, 7-6. (Reuters)

Melbourne: Lleyton Hewitt won an epic battle with Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal on Monday and Alicia Molik upset former world No. 1 Venus Williams to raise hopes of a home champion at the Australian Open.

Hewitt clawed his way back from the brink of defeat to win 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, while Molik rode her booming serve to a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Venus.

The performance by the two Australians was in contrast to the Russian women, whose seemingly unstoppable advance came to a shuddering halt when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva both bombed out against lower-ranked opponents.

Myskina, last season?s French Open champion and WTA player of the year, fell 4-6, 2-6 to Nathalie Dechy after Dementieva, a finalist in two of the last three Grand Slams, had been upset by Swiss Patty Schnyder 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (4-7), 2-6.

David Nalbandian won a late-night battle with fellow-Argentine Guillermo Coria 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the quarter finals for the third successive year.

In a high-quality match, which finished just after 2 am (1500 GMT) local time, the ninth seed?s greater weight of shot eventually proved the difference as he set up a clash with Hewitt.

Sixth seed Coria had treatment on a trouble some groin injury, but it didn?t seem to affect his movement as he came from a break down to take the first set.

But as the match wore on, Nalbandian found his range and after coming from a break down to level the match, he eased through the next two sets to advance and make Coria the second-highest seed to go out.

Hewitt had been in deep trouble when Nadal strung together nine successive games to set up a two-sets-to-one lead before producing one of his greatest comebacks.

Nadal has been tipped as a future Grand Slam champion after helping Spain win last year?s Davis Cup and the 18-year-old said his performance against Hewitt had shown him he what it takes.

It has been more than a quarter of a century since an Australian won either singles titles in Melbourne but the host nation is suddenly in with a chance of winning both after Molik scored the biggest win of her life.

Unbeaten in the three tournaments she has played this year, Molik fired seven aces past a bewildered Venus to set up a meeting with world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport on Wednesday ? Australia Day.

?I definitely drew inspiration from? the way Lleyton fought back,? Molik said.

?I guess Lleyton?s been in that situation so many times now, I had no doubt he was going to get through. It was a fantastic win. It was amazing the way he came through that match.?

It has been nearly four years since Venus won a Grand Slam tournament but she has lost none of her confidence. The 24-year-old American still believes she is the best player in the world.

?I can still play so there?s no doubt about that. I would say players are playing better, but I would definitely also say that when I?m playing well, I feel like I?m the best. Today was not my best, absolutely not my best.?

Venus won the Wimbledon and US Open titles in 2000 and 2001 but has not won a Grand Slam since, reaching four consecutive finals from 2002-03 but losing all of them to her younger sister Serena.

The Russians seemed to have the women?s tournament at their mercy after seven players marched into the round of 16 but only two survived to the quarter finals after the shock defeats of Myskina and Dementieva on Monday.

The remaining Russians, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, meet on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals.

Russia did at least have something to celebrate on Monday when Nikolay Davydenko beat Argentine Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to join compatriot Marat Safin in the last eight of the men?s draw.

Davydenko, the 26th seed, plays world No. 2 Andy Roddick in the quarters after the American blasted Germany?s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1.

The big-hitting Roddick was never in any serious trouble against Kohlschreiber, but said it was his least convincing performance of the tournament.

?I just felt like I was fighting it a little bit more than I had in the first three rounds,? Roddick said.

?The good thing is I don?t feel like I had my best day and we?re sitting here talking about a three-set win.?

Davenport defied the rash of upsets with a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Croatia?s Karolina Sprem and unlike Roddick she was pleased with her progress.

Both Myskina and Dementieva said they only had themselves to blame for their shock losses.

Myskina made 45 unforced errors in her loss to Dechy only to be outdone by Dementieva who committed 61 unforced errors. (Reuters)