Top seed and four-time champion Novak Djokovic lost just five games as he cruised into the third round of the Australian Open this morning.
World number one Djokovic thrashed Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-0 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 24 minutes, with all three singles matches on Rod Laver Arena finishing so quickly that a men's doubles match was hastily added to the day schedule.
Djokovic won the first nine games against a hopelessly outclassed Kuznetsov, who received a sympathetic cheer when he finally troubled the scorers in the fourth game of the second set.
The former Wimbledon boys' champion at least had the temerity to break Djokovic at the start of the third, but normal service was instantly resumed and Djokovic closed out the match in ruthless fashion.
"After my first-round match I was hoping to have this kind of performance, especially the opening two sets," Djokovic said afterwards. "Everything went as I planned and wished and hopefully I can stay on this path.
"(Kuznetsov) is a very talented player. He's still young and he's of the generation of my younger brother (Marko) who knows him well, so I spoke to him because I had not seen Kuznetsov play a lot."
Lleyton Hewitt refused to be drawn on his future after his 19th consecutive Australian Open appearance came to a heartbreaking end against Germany's Benjamin Becker.
Hewitt produced some inspired tennis to race through the opening two sets on Rod Laver Arena against a player who had never won a five-set match in his career.
However, the former Wimbledon champion was unable to maintain that level and Becker - who admitted to kicking a door to let off some steam after leaving the court following the second set - roared back to secure a 2-6 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory in just over three hours.
Becker's win over Andre Agassi in the third round of the US Open in 2006 prompted Agassi to retire, but the 33-year-old German said: "I hope it's not Lleyton's last match because then I get asked about it all the time. He is a great warrior, an unbelievable player, so I hope he continues."
Asked about his future plans, Hewitt - who won just one grand slam match in 2014 - said: "I'll sit down and think about it. As I've said the whole time, I haven't thought about anything.
"But obviously the Davis Cup is the next main thing. Now that we've got some guys playing really good tennis at the moment, it's an exciting time. We have a good chance to possibly pull off an upset away (against the Czech Republic in Ostrava). That's the next focus."
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka safely reached the last 32 but needed two hours and 16 minutes to finally subdue the resistance of Romanian qualifier Marius Copil 7-6 7-6 6-3.
The first two sets took longer to complete than Djokovic's entire match as they lasted an hour and 35 minutes, with Wawrinka edging both in tie-breaks before taking the third.
Wawrinka will face Jarkko Nieminen in the third round after the Finn defeated German qualifier Matthias Bachinger 7-6 7-5 7-5, with fifth seed Kei Nishikori taking on American Steve Johnson after coming from a set down to beat Croatia's Ivan Dodig 4-6 7-5 6-2 7-6.
