Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova holds a winning record against Aryna Sabalenka. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

The woman with the longest name in professional tennis has set her sights on the owner of a lengthy Australian Open winning streak in what shapes as an intriguing quarter-final.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – or Nastia to her friends – has looked better and better with each passing round in advancing to the last eight at Melbourne Park for the fourth time – and the first since 2020.

Next up is a quarter-final clash on Tuesday with two-time defending champ and world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, a powerhouse performer completely unrecognisable from the player crippled by the serving yips just three years ago.

Pavlyuchenkova, 33, has won two of their previous three meetings, the most recent of which was at the 2021 French Open when the Russian went on to reach her only major final where she went down to Barbora Krejcikova.

“I don’t even think about the record against (Sabalenka),” Pavlyuchenkova said after her straight-sets fourth-round AO win over Croatian Donna Vekic.

“Actually I think (the post-match interviewer) mentioned that on the court, and I didn’t even know it. Didn’t even think about it. It was a while ago.

“She’s obviously a different player now. I mean, she’s the No.1 player in the world, playing so strong. She’s very powerful.

“I don’t know what to expect actually.

“Hopefully I can bring some great tennis and try to compete against her power.”

Sabalenka is riding an 18-match winning streak at Melbourne Park, including title runs in 2023 and 2024.

The Belarusian has dropped just 26 games in four successive straight-sets wins this year, the most comprehensive being the 6-1 6-2 fourth-round drubbing she handed out to another Russian, teen star Mirra Andreeva.

That commanding performance was a world away from 2022, when Sabalenka seriously considered giving the sport away as she battled a crippling case of the serving yips.

“Honestly we tried so many things,” said the 26-year-old.

“At some point you just have to step back, and you have to realise a lot of things in life.

“You come to the point when you understand that tennis is just tennis, you know? There are bigger things in life.

“You just have to go out there without any fear of losing the match or facing the same struggle one more time.”

The winner plays either American No.3 seed Coco Gauff or 11th-seeded Spaniard Paula Badosa in the semis on Thursday.

27-ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS) leads 1-ARYNA SABALENKA (BLR) 2-1

2021 French Open, clay, R32, Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 2-6 6-0

2021 Madrid, clay, SF, Sabalenka 6-2 6-3

2019 Toronto, hard, R64, Pavlyuchenkova 3-6 6-3 7-5