JOIN USDjokovic glides through
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams reached the fourth round of the Australian Open without having lost a set between them on Friday as the Grand Slam establishment held firm on day five of the championships.
Tougher challenges will undoubtedly come but the untroubled progress of the two reigning champions and dominant players of 2015 has started to resemble a procession in the first week of the year's first Grand Slam.
Djokovic played a rare match away from Rod Laver Arena but still proved too strong for Italian Andreas Seppi, securing his 210th grand slam victory 6-1, 7-5 7-6 (6).
The Serbian had to work for his victory through some long rallies but always looked like he had an extra gear when he needed it.
Williams did a twirl on Rod Laver Arena after crushing Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-1 to extend her record of wins to 71 matches, the post-match chatter quickly turning to her cropped-top outfit.
Rain washed away much of the day's action on the outside courts at Melbourne Park, only intensifying the focus on the elite playing under cover on the three main arenas.
Roger Federer is still very much part of that elite despite having gone three years without adding to his 17 Grand Slam titles and he notched up a record 300th Grand Slam victory for a man by beating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Bulgarian Dimitrov was dubbed 'Baby Fed' for his similarity in style to the Swiss master but after briefly troubling the four-times Australian Open champion to win the second set, he looked more pale imitation than doppelganger.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova also lost a set to Lauren Davis but that only infuriated the 2008 champion and she raced through the decider 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-0 to claim her 600th WTA victory. The 28-year-old will next face Belinda Bencic, a teenager who is expected to be challenging for majors before too long.
The Swiss was the first player into the round of 16 after overhauling Kateryna Bondarenko 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 and said she would not be intimidated by playing a five-times grand slam champion.
Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, a semifinalist in 2014, played through the pain of a leg injury to beat Puerto Rica's Monica Puig 6-4, 6-0.
Radwanska next faces 21-year-old German Anna-Lena Friedsam, who beat last year's US Open runner up Roberta Vinci.
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic was the one major casualty of the day in the men's draw, going down 6-4, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to Roberto Bautista Agut.
Japan's seventh seed Kei Nishikori brushed off a wrist problem to move past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and set up a last 16 meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4).
A night after Melbourne Park bid an emotional farewell to Lleyton Hewitt, the locals noisily embraced their newest darling after Daria Gavrilova backed up her upset of Petra Kvitova by beating Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 4-6, 11-9.
Hewitt was back on Rod Laver Arena to watch Australia's most promising young men's player, Nick Kyrgios, lose 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 to sixth seed Tomas Berdych in typically tempestuous style.
Bopanna-Mergea through
Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea breezed into the pre-quarterfinals of the doubles event while Mahesh Bhupathi made a second round exit with partner Gilles Muller on Friday.
Fourth seeded Indo-Romanian team was fluent in their 6-3, 6-2 win over Lukas Dlouhy and Jiri Vesely as they saved all the three break chances.
Bhupathi’s campaign ended with tame 3-6, 2-6 defeat against American third seeds Bob and Mike Bryan.
Results
Third round (prefix denotes seeding): Men's singles: 6-Tomas Berdych (Cze) bt 29-Nick Kyrgios (Aus) 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4; 1-Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt 28-Andreas Seppi (Ita) 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6); 3-Roger Federer (Sui) bt 27-Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; 7-Kei Nishikori (Jpn) bt 26-Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Esp) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; 15-David Goffin (Bel) bt 19-Dominic Thiem (Aut) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5; 9-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) bt Pierre-Hugues Herbert (Fra) 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4); 14-Gilles Simon (Fra) bt Federico Delbonis (Arg) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1; 24-Roberto Bautista (Esp) bt 12-Marin Cilic (Cro) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.
Women's singles: 1-Serena Williams (US) bt Daria Kasatkina (Rus) 6-1, 6-1; Margarita Gasparyan (Rus) bt Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) 6-3, 6-4; 12-Belinda Bencic (Sui) bt Kateryna Bondarenko (Ukr) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; 5-Maria Sharapova (Rus) bt Lauren Davis (US) 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-0; 4-Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) bt Monica Puig (Pur) 6-4, 6-0; Anna-Lena Friedsam (Ger) bt 13-Roberta Vinci (Ita) 0-6, 6-4, 6-4; 10-Carla Suarez (Esp) bt Elizaveta Kulichkova (Rus) 6-4, 2-0 retired; Daria Gavrilova (Aus) bt 28-Kristina Mladenovic (Fra) 6-4, 4-6, 11-9.