Roger Federer eased into the fourth round of the Australian Open but Maria Sharapova was made to work much harder for her last-16 spot in Melbourne.
Swiss Federer brushed aside Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-2 6-2 6-3, while Sharapova survived a scrappy second set to beat France’s Alize Cornet 6-1 7-6.
Sharapova, the 2008 champion, raced to the first set in 32 minutes, but her game and serve deteriorated after that.
Serbia’s eighth seed Jelena Jankovic defeated Japan’s Kurumi Nara 6-4 7-5.
Rod Laver Arena
Federer (Swi) [6] beat Gabashvili (Rus) 6-2 6-2 6-3
Switzerland’s 17-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open for the 13th consecutive year with a comprehensive win over Gabashvili.
If omen’s are your thing, the only other time the pair met – at Wimbledon in 2007 – Federer also won in straight sets and went on to clinch the tournament. Also, the last time wife Mirka was pregnant – she is expecting the couple’s third child – Federer won the French Open and Wimbledon that year (2009).
Sharapova (Rus) [3] beat Cornet (Fra) [25] 6-1 7-6
Sharapova, who took nearly three-and-a-half hours to beat Karin Knapp in 40C heat on Thursday, seemed set for a stroll in the considerably cooler (22C) Melbourne Park after dismantling Cornet in the first set.
But the pitch of her shrieks intensified as she struggled to find her rhythm and her serve in the second.
Cornet, the 25th seed, broke to lead 3-1 but the Russian broke straight back and had match point at 5-3 before Cornet broke for 5-5 and then 6-6 to set up a tiebreak.
Sharapova had several aborted ball tosses and served six double faults in the second set, notably when Cornet levelled at 5-5, with only 52% of first serves going in. The 26-year-old’s groundstrokes kept her in the match, and 29 minutes after her first match point she manufactured a second to clinch the tiebreak.
The four-time Grand Slam champion won in one hour and 51 minutes to set up a clash with 20th seeded Slovak Dominika Cibulkova.
“She started playing better when I gave her some chances,” said Sharapova. “After my last match I’m just glad to be through and have another day to recover.
“I definitely need to step it up – every player will need to raise their game.”
Hisense Arena
Radwanska (Pol) [5] beat Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) [29] 5-7 6-2 6-2
Jankovic (Ser) [8] beat Nara (Jpn) 6-4 7-5
Margaret Court Arena
Cibulkova (Svk) [20] beat Suarez Navarro (Spa) [16] 6-1 6-0
Suarez Navarro hit only two winners against Cibulkova and admitted she was struggling after a three-hour match in searing heat in round two.
“I finished the last match with pain. I tried to recover yesterday but it was not possible to play good today,” she said. “When you play with these players at this level, you need to be 90% perfect or 100% perfect. If you are less than this, you cannot play, you cannot be on court.”
Stephens (USA) [13] beat Svitolina (Ukr) 7-5 6-4
Britwatch
Dom Inglot is the only remaining Briton in the men’s doubles after Colin Fleming, Ross Hutchins and Jamie Murray all went out in round two.
Inglot and his partner Treat Huey of the Philippines beat Andreas Seppi and Potito Starace 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 on Court 15 to reach the last 16.
There they will face seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who ended the hopes of Fleming and Hutchins.
Playing their first Grand Slam since Hutchins recovered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the British pair led 2-0 in the final set on Court Two, but went down 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Over on a blustery Court Seven, Murray and Australian partner John Peers could make little impression on the solid pairing of American Eric Butorac and South Africa’s Raven Klaasen, who won in 61 minutes without facing a break point.
Day six also sees the junior competition get under way, with Freya Christie and Emily Arbuthnott carrying British hopes.
