Ash Barty is through to the fourth round at the Australian Open after a straight sets victory over Elena Rybakina.
The world number one was forced to work for practically every point in this match despite a favourable scoreline.
But it was comfortable in the end for Barty, 23, who wrapped up a 6-3, 6-2 success in an hour and 18 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena.
The hype surrounding Rybakina suggested this would be no walk in Melbourne Park. The 20-year-old had came into this match with an 11-1 record in 2020 after winning the Hobart title and reaching the final in Shenzen.
But neither she nor Barty could have forseen what was going to happen from the start with four consecutive breaks in serve.
Barty finally held her ground and settled with a love hold before swiftly taking the next three games as Rybakina struggled to keep a lid on her unforced errors - 16 in the first set alone.
The top seed continued her rise through the gears by breaking early in the second set and from there it looked a long way back for Rybakina.
The youngster showed a glimpse of her potential by forcing Barty to dig deep and save three break points on two separate occasions in the second set.
But the sheer range of shots in the Australian's game proved to be the difference as Barty reached round four on home turf for only the second time in her career.
