World No. 1 Rafael Nadal delivered his best performance of the week as the Spaniard dismantled compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1 6-2 6-4 to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday. Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Simona Halep dodged an exodus of seeded players as the shocks kept rolling. After Serena Williams and title-holder Naomi Osaka fell by the wayside on Friday, second seed Karolina Pliskova crashed out on a day of carnage in the women's draw. Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the sixth seed, won only one game against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, the world No. 31, as she bombed 6-0, 6-1. And a resurgent Garbine Muguruza, a two-time Major-winner, thrashed fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-2 as six of the top 10 women's seeds exited in round three. Tenth seed Madison Keys lost to Maria Sakkari on Friday. "I was very concentrated and focused on what I wanted to do, it all went fast my way," said Muguruza, who raced through the first set in just 23 minutes. Croatian 19th seed Donna Vekic also crumbled to lower-ranked opposition when she lost 7-5, 6-3 to Poland's Iga Swiatek, who is returning from a stress fracture in her foot. While the women's seeds fell, Nadal was in ominous form on Rod Laver Arena, facing no break points and striking 42 winners to just seven unforced errors in his fifth straight win over 30th-ranked Carreno Busta. The victory also extended Nadal's 17-match winning streak over Spanish players, having not been beaten by a fellow countryman since losing to Fernando Verdasco at Melbourne Park in 2016. "It was my best match of the tournament so far, without a doubt," Nadal said. "I have been serving well, starting to create damage with the forehand. Hitting serve on one shot, I think." Carreno Busta never looked like threatening the Nadal serve, winning just 10 points on his returns in the 98-minute encounter. Nadal, bidding for a record-equaling 20th Grand Slam trophy, claimed victory when Carreno Busta sent a backhand into the net, setting up a meeting with either Australian Nick Kyrgios or Russian 16th seed Karen Khachanov for a spot in the quarter-finals. Kyrgios, no stranger to controversy, sparked headlines when he mocked Nadal by imitating the Spaniard's pre-service routine after being hit with a time violation during his second round match on Thursday. Nadal, who had earlier brushed aside the incident, said he preferred Kyrgios more when he was playing his fiery brand of tennis instead of drawing attention for his on-court antics. "When he plays good tennis and he shows passion for this game, he is a positive player for our tour and I want my tour bigger, not smaller," he said. "When he's ready to play his best tennis and play with passion, (he) is one of these guys. When he's doing the other stuff, of course I don't like." Halep put away Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last 16, where she will play Belgium's Elise Mertens, who won in three sets against CiCi Bellis -- ending the American's Grand Slam return from long-term injury. Halep, the reigning Wimbledon champion, shrugged off the departure of some of the tournament favorites, saying defeats can happen to anyone. "It's just a tournament, and I'm sure that for you guys (media) it's a little bit of shock when the top-10 players are losing, but it's life and we cannot be 100 percent every day," said the Romanian. Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champion, beat Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 to set up a meeting with Russia's 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who knocked out Pliskova 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3). "I was about 40 percent today of my game," said Pliskova, who was at a loss to explain her lack of form. "I don't know. I was just down." In other results, Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem came through 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-4 against Taylor Fritz, and Russia's Rublev beat Goffin 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4). Stanislas Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, progressed to the last 16 when John Isner retired in the second set, and Gael Monfils beat Ernests Gulbis 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-3. — Agencies
