Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out of the Australian Open by former world number one Maria Sharapova, who fired a warning to the rest of the field with a resounding three-set win on Friday.
Five-times Grand Slam winner Sharapova struck 37 winners in a 6-4 4-6 6-3 win to set up a fourth-round clash with home favourite Ashleigh Barty.
Wozniacki, who was competing as a defending champion at a Grand Slam for the first time, said it was just one of those days after being outplayed by her Russian opponent.
Sharapova showed she's ready to be a Grand Slam factor once again, ousting defending #AusOpen champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in nearly 2½ hours.
— TENNIS.com (@Tennis) January 18, 2019
WATCH: https://t.co/9dsOdo4zCf pic.twitter.com/dtSbKm1bdC
"In tennis, you're one on one, you battle and you do your best. One day you win, some days you lose," the Dane said.
"I gave it everything I had today. She was just a little bit better than me and that was really it."
Second seed Angelique Kerber celebrated her 31st birthday with a 58-minute 6-1 6-0 win over Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell.
Forget ?. Angelique Kerber had ? and ? for her birthday.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2019
The German celebrated turning 31-years-old with a 6-1 6-0 victory over Kimberly Birrell: https://t.co/BdB51ToJJh#AusOpen #sleepisfortheweak pic.twitter.com/l5pFGhkPXN
In the men's draw, 17-times Grand Slam winner Rafa Nadal needed six match points to overcome Australian number one Alex de Minaur 6-1 6-2 6-4 in a little over two hours.
Defending champion Roger Federer produced a serving masterclass to put away American Taylor Fritz 6-2 7-5 6-2 under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
The 37-year-old Swiss will next face Greek 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) 6-4.
CILIC SURVIVES VERDASCO TEST
After saving two match points in the fourth set tiebreak, sixth seed Marin Cilic overcame Spanish 35-year-old Fernando Verdasco 4-6 3-6 6-1 7-6(8) 6-3 to reach the last 16.
Cilic Survives ?
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) January 18, 2019
After saving two match points in the fourth set tie-break, @cilic_marin beats Fernando Verdasco in four hours and 18 minutes at the @AustralianOpen. ? #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/KP5d8GF5tB
TIAFOE OUTLASTS SEPPI
Frances Tiafoe was pushed to five sets in the third round but found a way past Italian Andreas Seppi to seal a 6-7(3) 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3 win in three hours and 17 minutes.
The American, who stunned fifth seed Kevin Anderson in the previous round, takes on Grigor Dimitrov next.
DIMITROV DOWNS FABBIANO
Grigor Dimitrov endured a stern test early in his third round match against Italian Thomas Fabbiano before the 20th seed prevailed 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 in a little over two hours.
STEPHENS OVERCOMES MARTIC
Straight sets but not straightforward.@SloaneStephens survives a gruelling match with Petra Martic, def. the Croatian 7-6(6) 7-6(5).#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/brkPuQwiOg
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2019
American Sloane Stephens, seeded fifth, beat Croatia's Petra Martic 7-6(6) 7-6(5) to move into the fourth round where she meets Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Former U.S. Open champion Stephens has won both previous meetings with the unseeded Russian, including a three-set victory at Beijing last year.
TEENAGER ANISIMOVA DISMISSES SABALENKA
American teenager Amanda Anisimova pulled off an upset by swatting aside 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-2.
The unseeded 17-year-old, who reached the quarter-finals at Auckland earlier this month, prevailed in 65 minutes to set up a fourth-round clash with Petra Kvitova or Belinda Bencic.
BERDYCH QUELLS SCHWARTZMAN CHALLENGE
Tomas Berdych dropped the opening set but recovered to overcome Diego Schwartzman 5-7 6-3 7-5 6-4. The Czech missed the last six months of 2018 due to a back issue but has since returned to form, reaching the final of the Qatar Open earlier this month.
1R: [13] Kyle Edmund ✅
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2019
2R: Robin Haase ✅
3R: [18] Diego Schwartzman ✅
A rejuvenated @tomasberdych is one to watch at #AusOpen 2019 ?https://t.co/XDmOJczfUY
TSITSIPAS POWERS PAST BASILASHVILI
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 3-6 7-6(7) 6-4 to reach the last 16 at Melbourne for the first time and equal his best Grand Slam result.
BARTY WINS FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY
Australia's Ashleigh Barty beat Maria Sakkari 7-5 6-1 under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena following morning showers.
The temperature at Melbourne Park was hovering around the 25 degrees Celsius mark on a cloudy day.
