There was hardly any trouble for the seeded players as the likes of Ana Ivanovic, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska stormed into the fourth round of the Australian Open.
With all eyes on the marquee matchup between Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova in the night session, the lesser-fancied women made short work of their respective third round opponents.
Ivanovic, seeded 13, battled out with fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic, getting the better of her compatriot 7-5, 6-3.
"It was tough match," Ivanovic told reporters after the match. "I think it was intense from the first to the last moment, but I really felt like I stayed in the zone and I played each point for, you know, for that point.
"That's what was my goal today, so I'm very pleased I managed to do that and to do it well."
Ivanovic said playing Jankovic was always a big occasion for her and a tough one as well.
"We did play French Open '08 and then here we were both in the semi-finals in '08, so it definitely brings a lot of memories," Ivanovic added.
"We haven't played each other in a Grand Slam for a while, but it's always tough. She's still a very good player, and even though we are different opponents now than we were then, still it's a battle, and every match you want to win."
The former world number one's next opponent will be fourth seed Radwanska, who eased past Britain's Heather Watson 6-3, 6-1.
"She's definitely matured a lot as a player," Ivanovic said of her fourth round opponent. "She was always a very tough competitor.
"She has style of game that she doesn't give you much and you really have to work for your points. Being patient is going to be a key.
"It's going to be tough. I have to be prepared to work hard for my points and to keep on putting pressure on her. It's going to be a balance of being aggressive enough and then still patient enough."
In other matches, Li Na had no problems in dispatching Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-1 to setup a meeting with Julia Georges, after the German scored a hard-fought 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 victory over Zheng Jie in the third round.
Fifth seed Angelique Kerber also went through in straight sets, ending the dream run of American teenager Madison Keys 6-2, 7-5. Kerber now faces Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who got the better of Marion Bartoli of France 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4.
