Wim Fissette spoke from grim experience when he declared “you never play names or rankings” after the 2016 champion, Angelique Kerber, flirted with defeat before beating the world No 88, Hsieh Su-wei, on day eight of the Australian Open.

Fissette remembers Hsieh only too well; he was in Johanna Konta’s box at Roland Garros last summer when the doubles specialist, then ranked 100 in the world, put Britain’s best out in the first round.

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Here on Monday, her quirky magic almost did the same for Fissette’s new client, the only slam champion left in the draw. Kerber, who will hope for a quieter time in her quarter-final on Wednesday against Madison Keys, took two hours and eight minutes to beat the Taiwanese veteran (the oldest player in the women’s draw at 32) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. But it must have seemed much longer.

Against all odds, Hsieh was hanging on, at 2-5 in the third, and nobody in the arena wanted it to end – except, perhaps, Kerber. With a cushion of two match points, she put away a finishing forehand down the line, and the 30-year-old German has rarely looked more relieved.

“I felt I was running from the first point until the last,” she said. “The key at the end was that I could run forever. She’s a really talented player, and had answers for every single shot I made in the first two sets.”

Kerber needed all her energy – and some untapped ingenuity – to take the sting out of Hsieh’s lazy genius, notably with a round-the-post winner at four-all in the second that brought the crowd to their feet. “I was so happy because I never played a shot like that before,” she said.

Her challenge was considerable. Who, for instance, plays a drop shot on match point – then smacks a first ace for deuce, after two hours and three minutes, before casually letting a Kerber forehand slide long? No one plays tennis like Hsieh.

That her legs gave up on her in the end was no surprise, but she did not complain about the heat or the result. Her press conference was upbeat, light-hearted and wholly in perspective.

“It was fun to make my opponent and myself run all the time,” she laughed. “Actually, my boyfriend was looking at her game earlier this morning. I forgot to ask him how she plays, So, I actually have no plan on the court. I just try to do my Su-wei style.”

A decade ago, Hsieh also reached the fourth round here, losing to Justine Henin. It is not true that only the best players beat her, but, on her day she is more than capable of beating them.

Kerber quickly turns her attention now to Keys. “I know what to expect. I know she’s a hard hitter and has a great serve.”

She refused to elaborate, and was not keen either to compare her form now to that of two years ago, when she beat Serena Williams in the final. “I don’t know [if I’m a better player]. It’s just the beginning of the year still. I’m fit – physically, mentally. I’m feeling really confident. But let’s see what the year will bring. I just want to enjoy my tennis again.”

If she could enjoy her tennis as much as Hsieh does, Kerber would be in a very good place indeed.

Keys had a far easier time of it beating the eighth seed Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 in 68 minutes. She said of Kerber: “She has an ability to cover the court and anticipate like no one else does. I know she’s going to make three more balls than other girls may be able to get to.”

Kerber or Keys will meet the winner of Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova. The world No 1 dispatched Naomi Osaka 6–3, 6–2, while Pliskova came through against fellow Czech Barbora Strycova after losing the first set.