Ageless defending champion Roger Federer marked his 100th match on Rod Laver Arena Friday by storming past American Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in the third round.

The 21-year-old world number 50 had no answer to the precision and finesse of the Swiss master, who extended his Open-era record for the most appearances in the fourth round of a Grand Slam to 63 with an 88-minute demolition.

Rafael Nadal hailed Alex de Minaur as “one of the best in the world” but still showed the teenager the Australian Open door 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the third round.

The relentless Spanish 17-time Grand Slam champion dragged the 19-year-old Australian 27th seed over every inch of Rod Laver Arena as he romped to victory in 2hr 22min.

Second seed Nadal will face unseeded Czech former world number four Tomas Berdych for a place in the quarter-finals.

On a rain-affected day that prevented early play on outside courts, the 37-year-old Federer showed no mercy to the 21-year-old in his 100th match on the centre court in Melbourne.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will continue his quest for a record seventh Australian Open title against Greek 14th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last 16.

Grigor Dimitrov’s rejuvenation under the wing of Andre Agassi continued apace as he powered into the last 16 with a straight-sets win over Italian Thomas Fabbiano.

The 27-year-old Bulgarian won 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-4 in just over two hours under the roof at Melbourne Arena to stay on course for a potential quarter-final against second seed Rafael Nadal.

Dimitrov, who was tumbling down the rankings before adding Agassi to his team in October, played sparkling tennis at times reminiscent of 2017 when he reached career-high ranking of three. The world number 21 gave the credit to his coaching team, led by Dani Vallverdu who formerly coached Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych.

Rising star Tsitsipas had to overcome a mini-meltdown to beat Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 at the Australian Open Friday.

The 14th seed, touted among the new generation of young stars as a future champion, came through the third round after being docked his first serve for exceeding the shot clock at a crucial moment while facing a break point in the third set.

The powerful Georgian Basilashvili, seeded 19, took advantage on the second delivery to break back causing Tsitsipas to unload a verbal tirade in the direction of his coaching team in his player box.

French umpire Alexandre Robein clearly understood enough of Greek and English vernacular to slap the 20-year-old with a code violation for an audible obscenity.

Czech veteran Tomas Berdych rallied with a battling 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win over Argentine 18th seed Diego Schwartzman.

Berdych, who reached the semi-finals in Melbourne in 2014 and 2015 but is unseeded this year after injury, will pay either Spanish star Rafael Nadal or Australian teenager Alex de Minaur in the next round.

Results

3rd round

Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x14) bt Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO x19) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4

Tomas Berdych (CZE) bt Diego Schwartzman (ARG x18) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4

Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Taylor Fritz (USA) 6-2, 7-5, 6-2

Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x20) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-4

Frances Tiafoe (USA) bt Andreas Seppi (ITA) 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x22) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x10) 6-4, 7-5, 6-4

Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Alex De Minaur (AUS x27) 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

With inputs from AFP