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MELBOURNE. — Andy Murray and Roger Federer put on a masterclass yesterday as they swept into the last 16 of the Australian Open tennis championship, hoping to take advantage of Novak Djokovic’s shock exit. Murray swamped Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 and Federer humbled Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in just 90 minutes, maintaining his 100 percent record over his old rival at Melbourne Park.

Women’s world number one Angelique Kerber also hit form as she dropped only four games against Kristyna Pliskova to race into a fourth-round meeting with America’s Coco Vandeweghe.Murray and Federer had both watched from afar on Thursday as Djokovic, the defending champion and six-time winner, suffered a stunning defeat to 117th-ranked Denis Istomin.

Querrey also upset Djokovic at Wimbledon last year but Murray, made a knight in Britain’s New Year honours, never looked like slipping on any banana skins in round three.

He put Querrey away 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in just under two hours, winning 77 percent of points on his first serve and facing only three break points in a clinical display.

The Scottish world number one also showed no signs of discomfort in his right ankle, after he rolled it painfully during his second-round win over Andrey Rublev. — AFP