Murray knocks out last local hope on night 8 of Australian Open

Australia's hopes of ending its four-decade-long wait for a new Australian Open men's champion have been shelved for another year, with Brit Andy Murray blasting Bernard Tomic out of his home Grand Slam on Monday night.

With the eyes of the nation watching on, Tomic, the last Australian left in the main draw, couldn't breakthrough for his first tour win against Murray. The 2nd-seed bullying Tomic, the youngest player in the ATP's Top-20, off center court in a straight sets win.

Striving for a maiden quarter-final berth at Melbourne Park, the 23-year-old Australian Number 1 was gallant, especially in a gritty third set, but ultimately outmatched by his British counterpart, who won 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 30 minutes.

Tomic's exit means 1976 Open winner Mark Edmondson will remain the last Australian to hold the Norman Brooks trophy aloft for at least another year.

Surprisingly, given both players' penchant for big-serving, breaks of serve flowed in the first two sets. But in the crucial moments of the fourth-round clash, Murray was able to pull clear on the scoreboard.

The 28-year-old two-time Slam winner seemed in cruise control until Tomic, who had never taken a set off the world Number 2, dug in his heels in the third set.

But, again, Tomic showed the callowness that has prevented him taking the next step into the game's Top-10, failing to execute when the going got tough in the third-set tiebreaker.

In a case of bitter irony, Murray might be one of the only people on the planet capable of appreciating the plight of Tomic and Australia's next generation of would-be champions.

Throughout his early years, the Brit shouldered the expectations of his entire homeland at his own major championship, with Britons deprived of a local Wimbledon winner for 77 years before Murray shattered the glass ceiling in 2013.

Over on Hisense Arena, Spanish slogger David Ferrer beat American John Isner in straight sets.

In biblical terms, the game could have passed for a sporting remake of David versus Goliath, with the diminutive Ferrer (standing 173 centimetres) unmoved by the towering Isner (208 centimetres).

True to the original storyline, physical stature had no bearing on the final result as Ferrer won 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. He will now feature in his fifth Australian Open quarter-final in the last six years.

The 33-year-old journeyman will meet Murray in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Earlier, Johanna Konta made some history of her own, becoming the first British women to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in 32 years.

Konta, in her first appearance in the women's main draw, battled back from two sets down against Ekaterina Makarova to win 4-6, 6-4, 8-6.

With Konta and Murray progressing, it means Britain has male and female representation in the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time in 39 years.

In the last match of the night, China's Zhang Shuai beat labouring American Madison Keys 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In the early hours of Australia Day, the honorary-Aussie Zhang - who has been the surprise packet of this year's Open - became the last player into the women's quarter-finals.

Zhang and Konta, both unseeded players, will playoff for a place in the semi-finals in two days time.

Before the night session, past Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka lost out in a five-set thriller against 13th-seed Milos Raonic.

On the brink of elimination, Wawrinka squared the ledger at two sets apiece before the Canadian arrested the momentum in the fifth to win 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3.

The world Number 4, who has been struggling with illness throughout the tournament, said he wasn't at his best.

"I've been sick since 10 days now ... (I) couldn't really be at my top," the Swiss star told reporters.

"When you play a top guy like Milos, it's difficult. You need to be 100 percent to have a chance to beat him."

Wawrinka said the 25-year-old Canadian, a semi-finalist at the Wimbledon in 2014, looked ready to challenge for a maiden major.

"For sure he will have some chance to go far in Grand Slam," Wawrinka told the press on Monday.

"But to win Grand Slam, you have to beat two of the big four. It's never easy."