Murray, Kerber look like world No. 1s in convincing third-round wins

The world No. 1s looked like world No. 1s—and pretty good bets to win the tournament—on Friday at the Australian Open.

Angelique Kerber, the defending champion in Melbourne, put any concerns about her level to rest with a 6-0, 6-4 shellacking of unseeded Kristyna Pliskova in less than an hour. The German needed three sets to get past Lesia Tsurenko and Carina Witthoeft in her first two rounds, but she was highly efficient on Rod Laver Arena on Friday, winning the first eight games of the match and converting five of her six break-point chances. She only had 14 winners, but limited her unforced errors to 14.

Kerber faces a dangerous opponent in Coco Vandeweghe in the fourth round. The American defeated Eugenie Bouchard in three sets to reach the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time.

Top-ranked Andy Murray, a five-time Australian Open finalist who has yet to claim the trophy Down Under, continued his brilliant play this week with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over 31st-seeded American Sam Querrey on Hisense Arena.

The Scot has taken all nine of the sets he’s played through his first three matches. Murray won 77 percent of his first-serve points and 85 percent of his net points, and tallied 40 winners to 22 unforced errors. He limited Querrey to just five aces.

With Novak Djokovic out of the draw prematurely, the stars appear to be aligning for Murray to capture his fourth Grand Slam title and maiden Australian Open. His next opponent will be 50th-ranked Mischa Zverev, set to make his fourth-round debut at a Slam in his 11th year on tour.