Second seed Iga Swiatek charged into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-0 humbling of Emma Raducanu in a meeting of former US Open champions at a sunny Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Polish No 1 Swiatek targeted Raducanu's backhand and feasted on the Briton's second serve to win the last 11 games of the contest and reach the last 16 in Melbourne for the fifth time in just 70 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
"I just enjoyed playing, I played a few shots where I thought 'yeah, this is what I practised for'," the 23-year-old said after improving her career record against Raducanu to 4-0.
"I felt really confident so at the end I could push more and converting all those break points was really important for me."
Swiatek converted five of the 12 break points she earned but faced none on her own serve from the hapless Raducanu, who has endured a string of injuries since capturing her only major at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
The world number 61 managed to hold serve at the first attempt but Swiatek was soon scurrying around the court finding the lines with her winners and showcasing her incredible consistency.
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The five-times Grand Slam champion, whose best performance in Melbourne was a run to the semi-finals in 2022, has yet to drop a set this year on her way to the fourth round, where she will play lucky loser Eva Lys or Jaqueline Cristian.
After a few days of cooler weather, temperatures started to rise on Saturday with projected highs of around 31 degrees Celsius (88F) over the weekend.
"For sure it helps," said Swiatek. "But on the other hand you also have to keep the control, so it's a mix.
"In tennis, the most important thing is adjusting ... I felt like it was going to be a challenge to adjust but obviously from the beginning I felt like I'm playing well, my hand is fast."
American Alex Michelsen was also an early winner on day seven of the championships, racing past 2023 semi-finalist Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6(5) 6-2 on John Cain Arena.
The 20-year-old Michelsen, who rallied from 3-0 down in the second set, joined compatriot Tommy Paul in the fourth round with four more Americans playing third-round ties on Satuday.
Eighth seed Emma Navarro joined the American charge with a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win over Tunisian Ons Jabeur in a topsy-turvy match on Margaret Court Arena.
Men's top seed Jannik Sinner later resumes his title defence against another in the shape of unseeded Marcos Giron, while 10th seed Danielle Collins faces her childhood penpal Madison Keys in an all-American women's clash.
HISTORY MAKER LYS INTO LAST 16
Eva Lys made history as the 128th-ranked German battled into the fourth round of the Australian Open to set up a meeting with second seed Iga Swiatek.
The 23-year-old fought back from a set down to become the first women's singles "lucky loser" to reach the fourth round since the event moved to Melbourne Park in 1988.
She defeated Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
A "lucky loser" is a player who loses in qualifying but later gets a ticket into the main draw following another player's withdrawal, usually because of illness or injury.
It has been a whirlwind few days for Ukraine-born Lys.
She lost in the final round of qualifying in Melbourne last week, her hopes of making the first major of the year seemingly over.
Her bags were packed and her flight out of Melbourne booked.
But she hung about on the off-chance that another player would drop out and 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya did just that on Tuesday, suddenly giving Lys another Australian Open life.
She said she had just 10 minutes' warning before defeating home player Kimberly Birrell in straight sets in the first round, then beat Varvara Gracheva of France.
This is Lys's best performance at a major.
RYBAKINA NEEDS PHYSIO 'MAGIC'
Former Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina said she will need some "magic" from her physio if she wants to go further in the tournament after a back spasm flared up during her third-round win.
Sixth seed Rybakina left the court after just three games for a medical timeout and treatment before beating Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska 6-3, 6-4.
Kazkhstan's Rybakina was clearly hampered during the match.
She opted to shorten rallies and shoot mainly for winners as she managed to get through to the second week for only the second time after reaching the final in 2023, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
"Honestly, I didn't know how it was going to go because it came all of a sudden," Rybakina, who was aided by 37 unforced errors from 32nd seed Yastremska, said of the back issue.
"I needed to stay there and try to hold my serve. I knew that it would be very difficult for me to stay long in the rally so I was trying sometimes risk a little bit more.
"So really happy that it went my way," added the 2022 Wimbledon champion.
Rybakina is in a race against time to be fit for her fourth-round match, which will be against an American opponent in either Madison Keys or Danielle Collins on Monday.
Asked if her back would be okay, she replied: "Not really. So I will see my physio and hopefully he does some magic."
Rybakina pulled out of last season's Asian swing with a back injury but returned for the season-ending WTA Tour Finals.
SVITOLINA SHOCKS FOURTH SEED PAOLINI AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Elina Svitolina emulated her husband Gael Monfils in knocking out a world No 4 in the third round of the Australian Open.
Svitolina beat Jasmine Paolini 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the women's draw just hours after Monfils stunned Taylor Fritz on the same Margaret Court Arena in the men's singles.