Record-chasing Rafael Nadal cruised through to the third round of the Australian Open after outclassing Michael Mmoh in straight sets.
Nadal is bidding to move clear of Roger Federer with a record 21st grand slam title, while the world number two is also looking to become the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four majors twice.
The 2009 Australian Open champion remains on track thanks to Thursday's 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory in warm conditions under the Rod Laver Arena lights.
Nadal was aiming to maintain his perfect record against qualifiers at the Australian Open - the Spanish star having won 25 of the 26 matches played against qualifiers at a grand slam, with his only defeat coming to Dustin Brown at Wimbledon in 2015.
He did not have much trouble against Mmoh, Nadal schooling the 23-year-old in a merciless and devastating first set, which saw him win 80 per cent of first serves, hit 10 winners and break twice.
Mmoh, who was looking to surpass the achievement of his father after Tony reached the Australian Open second round in 1988, provided some flashes of quality.
On just one occasion had Nadal lost to a player as low as number 177 Mmoh at ATP Tour-level - world number 690 Joachim Johansson in 2006, while Nick Kyrgios (144) was the lowest-ranked player to upstage the veteran at a slam via Wimbledon in 2014.
But it was trademark Nadal, who despite Mmoh's best efforts, broke in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead and never looked back, though one unruly fan tried their best to derail the former world number one before being escorted out of the stadium.
Amid concerns over his back pre-tournament, Nadal raced through the third set with a couple of highlight shots to set up a clash against Cameron Norrie.
Data Slam: Nadal stays perfect
Nadal improved to 50-0 when winning the opening two sets at the Australian Open, dating back to 2004.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 40/24
Mmoh – 16/25
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 7/3
Mmoh – 8/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 5/11
Mmoh – 0/0
Jaiswal, Kohli tons put India on the verge of win against Australia
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli bagged magnificent centuries to put India in a commanding position on day three of their first Test match against Australia in Perth.
India declared in a dominant position of 487-6 after Jaiswal (161) built on their 172-0 at stumps on day two and former captain Kohli (100 not out) added quick runs with his first century in 16 months coming up during the final hour.
The tourists then wreaked havoc with the ball in five overs before stumps as captain Jasprit Bumrah dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney (zero) and Marnus Labuschagne (three) before nightwatchman Cummins (two) fell to Mohammed Siraj with the score at 12, as the hosts trail by 521 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Earlier in the Test, India had scored 150 batting first before bundling out Australia for 104 in the first innings.
Jaiswal resumed his innings at 90 on the third day and brought up his century in the first hour before KL Rahul departed for 77 after an opening-wicket partnership of 201.
The centurion fell as India's third wicket at 313-3 as Australia picked up three wickets in the space of eight runs, but Kohli reached his ton with help from Washington Sundar (29) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (38 not out) as India asserted their dominance.
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
Djokovic appoints Murray as coach for Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has announced his long-term former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open in 2025.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner, announced his retirement earlier this year and played his final match at the Paris Olympics in August.
He will join Djokovic's team in the off-season and coach him through the opening grand slam of the year, which begins on January 12.
This will be Murray's first coaching role since retiring following a 19-year career.
"We played each other since we were boys. 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits," Djokovic said in a video on social media.
"We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk-takers, history makers.
"I thought our story may be over - turns out it has one final chapter.
"It's time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome onboard coach, Andy Murray."
Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The Serb is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player. He has a good record in Australia though, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals.
Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open title in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, says he hopes they can achieve success together.
"I'm going to be joining Novak's team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said.
"I'm really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals."
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