Djokovic, Wawrinka march on at the Australian Open
Top-seed Djokovic beats 88th-ranked Kuznetsov while defending champion Wawrinka took two hours to defeat qualifier.
Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open campaign shifted up a gear with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 thrashing of Russian Andrey Kuznetsov to move into the third round.
The steely eyed Serb, bidding for a record fifth title at Melbourne Park in the professional era, wrapped up the first set in 21 minutes and gave 88th-ranked Kuznetsov no chance in a one hour 24-minute training run on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic preserved his record of reaching the third round at Melbourne Park for a ninth consecutive year.
Meanwhile, defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka also moved into the third round with a workmanlike victory over Romanian qualifier Marius Copil.
The 29-year-old Wawrinka, who appeared to have some trouble with his right elbow throughout the match as he iced it during the changeovers and only recorded two aces, took two hours, 16 minutes to beat the 24-year-old 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Other results (selected):
9-David Ferrer (Spain) beat Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-2
18-Gilles Simon (France) beat Marcel Granollers (Spain) 7-6(5) 6-2 6-4
5-Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Ivan Dodig (Croatia) 4-6 7-5 6-2 7-6(0)
12-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat Adrian Mannarino (France) 4-6 4-6 7-6(3) 4-0 (Mannarino retired)
19-John Isner (U.S.) beat Andreas Haider-Maurer (Austria) 6-4 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4