Australian Open defending champion Madison Keys raised her game in the Melbourne Park heat to beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-3 and reach the fourth round of the Grand Slam on Saturday.
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On a day forecast to hit 40 degrees Celsius (104F), American Keys avoided the worst of the conditions as she dismantled the Czech in 75 minutes in the early match at Rod Laver Arena.
The ninth seed will meet fellow Florida-based American Jessica Pegula, who similarly coasted into the last 16 with a 6-3 6-2 win over Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva at Margaret Court Arena.
Keys and sixth seed Pegula are good friends away from the tour and produce a tennis podcast together with American players Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk.
Both Keys and Pegula said they had no problems with the conditions, despite temperatures hovering above 31C well before midday.
"I was excited about the heat, being Floridian," Keys said on court.
Keys also revealed she and Pegula were due to a produce a podcast before their match. The friendship will be put aside when they meet in a couple of days.
ANISIMOVA RAMPS UP MELBOURNE TITLE BID WITH IMPERIOUS WIN
Amanda Anisimova ramped up her Australian Open title charge with a 6-1, 6-4 beating of fellow American Peyton Stearns on Saturday to reach the last 16 in imperious fashion.
The fourth seed defied a Melbourne Park heatwave to run out a comfortable winner in 71 minutes in roasting sunshine.
The impressive 24-year-old will play either 13th-seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic or China's Wang Xinyu for a place in the quarterfinals.
Anisimova enjoyed a breakout year in 2025, reaching finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, and is aiming to go one better in 2026
"Super-hot today," Anisimova said in her on-court interview, which she conducted wrapped in an ice towel.
"I had a lot of fun today playing in front of you guys, especially a lot of American supporters."
Anisimova steamrollered the 68th-ranked Stearns in the first set at Margaret Court Arena.
The 24-year-old Stearns held up the victory charge in the second set as Anisimova wobbled on her serve.
The world No 4 looked briefly rattled as Stearns won three games in a row after trailing 5-1.
It only delayed the inevitable, but not before Anisimova racked up a seventh double fault.
"We were just battling it out there at the end," said Anisimova, who is yet to drop a set in three matches at the first major of the season.
She defeated Switzerland's Simona Waltert 6-3, 6-2 in her opener and dismissed Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-4 in round two.