Defending champion Serena Williams charged into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina today.
Playing a record 80th main draw match at Melbourne Park against an 18-year-old on her first trip Down Under, Williams was merciless under the lights of Rod Laver Arena, blasting 24 winners and winning all 10 points coming into the net.
Kasatkina raised rambunctious cheers from sympathetic fans in the terraces when she prised a game in each set but Williams finished full of running, closing out the match in 44 minutes when her frazzled opponent pushed a forehand wide.
Williams, bidding for seventh title at Melbourne Park and a 22nd grand slam trophy, faces another unseeded Russian in Margarita Gasparyan in the next round.
Former champion Maria Sharapova found inspiration in a change of dress to put away unseeded American Lauren Davis 6-1 6-7(5) 6-0 and set up an intriguing fourth round match with rising Swiss talent Belinda Bencic.
Up 2-0 in the second set and closing in on victory, the Russian's serve crumbled, allowing Davis to reel off five consecutive games and eventually capture a tense second set tiebreak.
Fifth seed Sharapova left the court for a lengthy comfort break between sets but re-emerged with a fresh outfit and a renewed focus, and proceeded to hammer the hapless American.
Bashing consecutive aces with her first two serves, Sharapova roared through without dropping a game, closing out the match when her 103rd-ranked opponent swiped a backhand long.
"I don't have a chat in the mirror, I think I get fined for that," Sharapova said courtside of her trip to the locker-room.
"I changed my dress and felt a little bit lighter which made me move better. But other than that, that's all I can share."
The win was 28-year-old Sharapova's 600th on tour and the five-time grand slam champion now faces an inter-generational battle against teenager Bencic.
Agnieszka Radwanska, playing through the pain of a leg injury, rode an opening set onslaught to take a place in the last 16 with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Monica Puig.
The fourth seed was forced to pull out of the Sydney warm-up because of her troublesome left leg and had lengthy medical treatment on it between the two sets in the 76-minute third round match.
"Pain is my second name," the Pole said. "The spray doesn't work, the strapping doesn't work, I just have to get on with. I am used to it. I can still play my best tennis. You just have to deal with it."
Meanwhile, Irish 15-year-old Georgia Drummy will face fellow qualifier Ayano Shimizu (17) of Japan in the first round of the Junior Australian Open on Sunday.
