Djokovic, Murray power into fourth round

Defending champion Novak Djokovic blitzed his way into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday, conceding just two games as big guns Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also eased through. The Serbian top seed, yet to drop a set in Melbourne as he chases a third consecutive grand slam title, destroyed hapless Mahut 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in just 74 minutes.
---- Hewitt blunts Raonic to set up Djokovic clash
Last year's beaten finalist Murray, the British fourth seed, had no trouble dispatching Frenchman Michael Llodra in a night match that featured some crowd-thrilling rallies. And French sixth seed Tsonga, who lost to Djokovic in the 2008 Melbourne final, was also in a hurry, demolishing Portugal's Frederico Gil, ranked 107th, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. Djokovic, who set the tennis world alight in 2011, barely broke sweat as he reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the sixth straight year. He looked in ominous form as he set up a clash with two-times grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt after the Australian's gutsy four-set win over Canadian power-server Milos Raonic in the night match on Rod Laver Arena. Djokovic leads Hewitt 4-1.
Mahut, who shares the record for the longest-ever tennis match of 11 hours and five minutes with John Isner at Wimbledon two years ago, struggled with a left knee injury on his 30th birthday. "Credit to Nicolas. Obviously, he had some strapping around his knee and I felt sorry for him," Djokovic said.
Djokovic, who broke Mahut's serve eight times and made only eight unforced errors in the 20 games, is bidding to become the fifth man to win three consecutive grand slams after winning Wimbledon and the US Open last year. Murray was also in commanding form, seeing off 46th-ranked Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 and will play Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in the round of 16. He was always in control of the erratic Frenchman, breaking six times and hitting an impressive 48 winners.
Meanwhile Tsonga, the top-ranked French player, said not having a coach had done him no harm at all after seeing off Gil to set up a match with Japan's 24th seed, Kei Nishikori. Tsonga parted company with long-time coach Eric Winogradsky last April and has since been on his own, but in that time he has reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open quarter-finals.
In other action on Saturday, Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer, a semi-finalist last year, saw off Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 and will play Richard Gasquet in the next round. Australia's Lleyton Hewitt defused the big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic to march into the fourth round and a showdown with Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open on Saturday.
The tigerish Hewitt, fighting back from an injury-plagued 2011, slugged out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over the 23rd-seeded Roanic in 3hr 6min to set up a box office round-of-16 clash with the defending champion on Monday. It was Hewitt's famed never-say-die spirit that wore down the Canadian serve-volleyer in their first meeting, much to the delight of a capacity home crowd on Rod Laver Arena. Results from the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday (x denotes seeding):
Men's singles (3rd round): Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x6) bt Frederico Gil (POR) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2; Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) bt Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 6-0, 6-1, 6-1; David Ferrer (ESP x5) bt Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG x27) 7-5, 6-2, 6-1; Richard Gasquet (FRA x17) bt Janko Tipsarevic (SRB x9) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; Kei Nishikori (JPN x24) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3; Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt Gael Monfils (FRA x14) 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4; Andy Murray (GBR x4) bt Michael Llodra (FRA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.
Women's singles (3rd round) Petra Kvitova (CZE x2) bt Maria Kirilenko (RUS x27) 6-0, 1-0 - retired; Maria Sharapova (RUS x4) bt Angelique Kerber (GER x30) 6-1, 6-2; Sara Errani (ITA) bt Sorana Cirstea (ROM) 6-7 (6/8), 6-0, 6-2; Ana Ivanovic (SRB x21) bt Vania King (USA) 6-3, 6-4; Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS x7) 7-6 (9/7), 6-1; Zheng Jie (CHN) bt Marion Bartoli (FRA x9) 6-3, 6-3; Sabine Lisicki (GER x14) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x18) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2; Serena Williams (USA x12) bt Greta Arn (HUN) 6-1, 6-1.