Tennis:Grand slam champions Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters moved a step closer to hoisting another major trophy after both claimed straight-sets victories on the sixth day of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Rain caused the majority of the matches on the outside courts to be either delayed and moved to the main courts or postponed until tomorrow but both Sharapova and Clijsters - who each played under the roof in steamy, humid conditions - easily accounted for their less-experienced rivals.
Number one seed Sharapova, who is aiming to win back-to-back grand slams after claiming the US Open crown last year, has well and truly cast aside her first-round scare against Camille Pin and was relentless as she overcame 30th seed Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-3 6-1.
Hitting 24 winners to her opponent's five, Sharapova needed little more than an hour to book her place in the fourth round.
"I thought (my match) was pretty good," the 19-year-old Russian said. "I thought I was a bit slow in the beginning of the match. I didn't really adjust from the beginning. I thought I was letting her play her game a little too much."
Clijsters has indicated that this will be her last appearance at Melbourne Park but looks in deadly touch after casting aside number 29 seed Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-3 6-3. Clijsters now meets either American Ashley Harkleroad or Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in the fourth round.
"I'm very happy we're going into the second week. This is what you do it for. This is where it all starts from," the Belgian said. "There's no better feeling than knowing all the work you do in the off-season pays off."
Also breezing into the fourth round was three-time champion Martina Hingis, who continued her love affair with the year's first grand slam as she downed Japan's Aiko Nakamura 6-2 6-1 in the third round. In a match that lasted just over an hour, the Swiss sixth seed looked flawless as she belted down 18 winners to seal the match in emphatic style.
After three years away from Melbourne Park, Hingis returned to the professional arena in 2006 and made the quarter-finals, much to the delight of fans. Her win over the unseeded Nakamura saw her set up a fourth-round clash with either Dinara Safina or China's Na Li.
"It's always a great feeling to be in the second week of a Grand Slam. That's what you come here for," Hingis said. "Being seeded sixth, that's what you expect at least. I'm happy I was able to at least fulfil my commitment so far."
There was disappointing news for home fans as Swiss eighth seed Patty Schnyder engineered a stunning 3-6 6-2 6-0 comeback to brutally deny Australian Alicia Molik a berth in the fourth round.
Squaring off on the Rod Laver Arena under the closed roof and before a partisan crowd, Molik started in sensational fashion. However, after taking the first set, the Australian lost her composure and Schnyder upped the tempo on her way to victory.