Roger Federer delivered a serving masterclass to sweep aside American Taylor Fritz and reach the Australian Open fourth round.

The defending champion won 6-2 7-5 6-2 under the roof on Rod Laver Arena at a rainy Melbourne Park.

The Swiss third seed, 37, is aiming to become the first man to win seven Australian Open titles.

Next up for him is Greek 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.

Joining Federer in the next round is Czech former semi-finalist Tomas Berdych, who knocked out Argentine 16th seed Diego Schwartzman 5-7 6-3 7-5 6-4.

Unseeded Berdych, who beat Britain’s Kyle Edmund in the first round and has found his form after an injury-hit 2018, will play the winner of Friday’s match between world number two Rafael Nadal and Australian Alex de Minaur.

• Nadal sees off Australian hope De Minaur
• Sharapova knocks out champion Wozniacki
• Teenager Anisimova beats seed Sabalenka

Federer serves up victory in style

The Swiss was in a ruthless mood from the start, breaking Fritz’s second and third service games on his way to a 5-1 lead.

But it was on his own serve where the 20-time Grand Slam champion dominated, with Fritz taking just two points on the Federer serve in the first set.

He sealed the set with an ace with just 20 minutes on the clock and carried on where he left off in the second with back-to-back holds to love.

But the 21-year-old American began to apply a bit more pressure on Federer’s serve midway through the second, taking him to deuce in the eighth game before losing his own serve three games later.

From there Federer served for the set, once again wrapping it up with an ace – the eighth of his 10.

Back-to-back breaks in the third sealed the fate of Fritz, who had shown glimpses of a promising future with his shot-making as well as an ability to laugh at himself when he fluffed an easy smash.

“I wanted to get out the blocks quickly as I knew of the threat and his possibilities on the serve,” said Federer, who was playing his 100th match on the Rod Laver Arena.

“The second set was tough. There were a few chances but he protected his serve well and it was close. We had some good points and it was fun. I wish him all the best for the future.”

• Live scores, schedule and results
• Follow the Australian Open on BBC TV, radio and online
• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone

Cilic scrapes through into last 16

Sixth seed Marin Cilic saved two match points on his way to a five-set victory over 2009 semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco.

The Croat, beaten in last year’s final by Roger Federer, fought back from two sets down to win 4-6 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 in a match that lasted four hours 18 minutes and finished at 12.57am local time.

In the fourth set tiebreak Cilic saved one match point with a huge serve into the corner before Verdasco double faulted on the second match point, hitting the net cord with his second serve.

“It was definitely a tough tiebreak,” said Cilic. “It came down to one shot, or basically one decision. I was a little bit lucky on that net cord. I was just slightly luckier in those crucial moments.

“It was definitely a tough match, unbelievable.”

Murray conqueror Bautista Agut into another Grand Slam last 16

Cilic will next play Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Andy Murray in the first round in what may have been the Briton’s final match.

The Spaniard, seeded 22nd, knocked out 10th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-4 7-5 6-4.

It is the fourth time Bautista Agut has made the fourth round of the Australian Open, but he has never made it past the last 16 in a Grand Slam, losing at that stage on 10 occasions.

Elsewhere, 2017 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov also won, with the Bulgarian beating Italian Thomas Fabbiano 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4.

Up next for Dimitrov is 20-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who will be playing in the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.

Tiafoe eliminated fifth seed Kevin Anderson on Wednesday in round two and fought back from two sets to one down on Friday to defeat Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-3.

American 17-year-old Amanda Anisimova stunned 11th seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open.

The youngest competitor left in the draw won 6-3 6-2 to become the first player born in the 2000s to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam.

“This is an unreal feeling, I can’t believe that this is happening right now,” said the tournament debutant.

The world number 87 faces two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova next.

The Czech eighth seed, who won last week’s Sydney International, beat Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-1 6-4 in 68 minutes.

“I’m feeling pretty good on the court physically and my mindset’s good. I’m serving well too, which is important,” said Kvitova.

Meanwhile, American Danielle Collins, who overcame 14th seed Julia Goerges in the opening round, moved into round four with a 6-3 6-2 win over France’s 19th seed Caroline Garcia.

Next up for Collins will be 2016 champion and second seed Angelique Kerber, who thrashed Australian wildcard Kimberly Birrell 6-1 6-0 in 58 minutes.

Former world number one Kerber, on her 31st birthday, was far too good for the 20-year-old, who had caused a shock in the second round when she defeated 29th seed Donna Vekic of Croatia.

• Sharapova beats champion Wozniacki
• Federer sweeps aside Fritz to advance

Anisimova ‘can’t believe’ she won

Anisimova’s only other two Grand Slam appearances at the French and US Opens ended in first-round exits.

The youngster used her power to unleash 21 blistering winners and an accurate first serve on Belarusian Sabalenka, who had been among those fancied to challenge for the title in Melbourne.

“I was expecting a really tough match, she’s a great player, so I really can’t believe I got through this round,” Anisimova said.

“I’m feeling really good out here, I played some great tennis.”

She becomes the youngest American to reach a Grand Slam fourth round since Serena Williams at the French Open in 1998, and the youngest in Melbourne since Jennifer Capriati in 1993.

Stephens comes through stiff test

Fifth seed Sloane Stephens was made to work hard in her third-round victory over Croatian 31st seed Petra Martic.

The American 2017 US Open champion carved out just one break point – which she converted after having been broken herself in the first set – in a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) win.

She will face world number 44 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last 16 after the Russian’s 6-0 6-3 victory over world number 31 Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.

• Live scores, schedule and results
• Follow the Australian Open on BBC TV, radio and online
• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out of the Australian Open as five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova provided a reminder of her ability with a three-set win.

Russia’s Sharapova, seeded 30th, hit 37 winners in a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory to reach the fourth round.

Wozniacki, 28, led 4-1 in the first set, only to see Sharapova battle back.

The third seed broke in the final game of the second to level, Sharapova edging a tight third in Melbourne.

The 2008 Australian Open champion took her second match point to win in two hours and 24 minutes and set up a fourth-round meeting with Australia’s Ashleigh Barty on Sunday.

“I thought the level was quite high. I knew I’d get a tough match,” Sharapova, 31, said.

Danish world number three Wozniacki, defending the ranking points won in Melbourne last year, is set to slide down the standings as a result of the defeat.

• Federer sweeps aside Fritz to advance
• Teenager Anisimova upstages Sabalenka
• Live scores, schedule and results

Sharapova’s talent shines through

Sharapova has been unable to climb back into the upper echelons of the game since returning from a doping ban in April 2017, making just one Grand Slam quarter-final at last year’s French Open.

But against Wozniacki she proved she still has the talent – and, most importantly, desire – to cause problems for the world’s best.

It was not Sharapova’s biggest win in terms of ranking since returning, having also beat Simona Halep – who was then second in the world – at the 2017 US Open.

While she obviously impressed with her quality of play, her sheer will-to-win also stood out.

Against one of the game’s fittest and most relentless players, the Russian won 17 of 23 rallies which lasted nine shots or more.

That included a pivotal moment at 4-4 in the first set where she switched hands in a 23-shot rally to stay in the opening point and went on to win it.

In turn, she went on to hold and broke in the next game on her way to the opening set.

Sharapova was constantly screaming in celebration after seeing winners go in and an intense fist-pump at her box moments after clinching victory illustrated how much it meant.

“I haven’t played many matches in the last year against top players so it was really rewarding to win that last set,” she said.

“These are the kinds of matches I train for.”

Wozniacki unable to scale Slam heights again

Defeat is another blow for Wozniacki, who announced in October she has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

The former world number one came into the first Grand Slam of the year with little hype, perhaps because she has not gone past the last 16 at a major since winning in Melbourne and lost to Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu in Auckland earlier this month.

She found encouragement by easing past Belgium’s Alison van Uytvanck and Sweden’s Johanna Larsson – both ranked outside the top 50 – in the opening two rounds here.

But, against Sharapova, she was outfought.

Wozniacki was among one of the most vocal critics of Sharapova following her doping ban, leading to Sharapova’s agent Max Eisenbud dismissing the Dane as a “journeyman”.

Yet there was a civilised handshake at the net as Wozniacki congratulated Sharapova on her performance.

• Follow the Australian Open on BBC TV, radio and online
• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone