Highlights - Australian Open day four

Tennis - Australian Open - Second Round - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, January 17, 2019. Staff prepare the court ahead of matches for the day. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

(Reuters) - Highlights of Thursday's fourth day of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year (all times GMT):

0110 GIORGI SWATS ASIDE SWIATEK

Tennis - Australian Open - Second Round - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, January 17, 2019. Italy's Camila Giorgi in action during the match against Poland's Iga Swiatek. REUTERS/Aly Song

Italy's Camila Giorgi took less than an hour to move into the third round with a 6-2 6-0 victory over Polish qualifier Iga Swiatek.

The 27-year-old capitalised on a poor service game from Swiatek to sieze six of her 11 break opportunities and will next face either seventh seed Karolina Pliskova or Madison Brengle.

Tennis - Australian Open - Second Round - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, January 17, 2019. Poland's Iga Swiatek in action during the match against Italy's Camila Giorgi. REUTERS/Aly Song

0010 PLAY UNDERWAY AT MELBOURNE PARK

Play got underway on schedule under cloudy skies at 11 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) with the temperature hovering just above the 25 degrees Celsius mark with an expected high of 37C and some rain forecast.

Former men's champion Stan Wawrinka should prove a dangerous opponent for 16th seed Milos Raonic when they are up second on Rod Laver Arena, while Serena Williams continues her quest for a 24th Grand Slam singles title against Canada's Eugenie Bouchard in the first match of the evening session.

Men's eighth seed Kei Nishikori, who was in danger of losing his first round match to Kamil Majchrzak before the Polish qualifier suffered severe cramping, faces Ivo Karlovic on Margaret Court Arena.

(Compiled by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Peter Rutherford)