Defending champion Naomi Osaka was pleased that she found a way out of a second-set blip to beat American Madison Brengle 6-0, 6-4 and reach the Australian Open third round, staying on course for a potential fourth-round clash with top-ranked Ashleigh Barty.

The Japanese 24-year-old, who also won the Melbourne Park title in 2019, will next meet 60th-ranked American Amanda Anisimova with a mouth-watering clash against Australian Barty potentially waiting in the round of 16.

Brengle won just nine points in the first set as an aggressive Osaka served superbly, facing no breakpoints, and returned strong to breeze through the set in just 20 minutes. Osaka hit 13 winners to zero managed by Brengle in the set.

Her dominant performance drew praise from Andy Murray, with the former world No. 1 quipping on Twitter: “Anyone hit the ball cleaner from the baseline than @naomiosaka?”

“It’s a little bit shocking, because when you’re playing, you never really think the TV is broadcasting it and other people are watching,” said Osaka. “So, yeah, definitely really surreal. It was really cool just to have someone like him talking about my game.”

Barty sailed into the third round, overwhelming Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti on Rod Laver Arena then taking time to enjoy the tournament’s inaugural First Nations Peoples Day.

A proud indigenous Australian, Barty followed in the footsteps of trailblazer Evonne Goolagong Cawley by winning the Wimbledon title last year. Barty spoke glowingly of Goolagong Cawley’s influence on young indigenous athletes and said she was glad she was able to play a match on “a really special day for our culture and our heritage”.

Earlier on court, Barty hammered 11 winners to wrap up the first set in 25 minutes and was equally dominant in the second, sealing the 6-1, 6-1 victory in well under an hour.

Madison Keys advanced with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Jaqueline Cristian as the American continued her resurgence after a year in which she sank into a “dark pit of despair” and her ranking plummeted.

In-form Paula Badosa was enjoying the novelty of life as a seed as she strode into the third round for the first time with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win.

Zverev’s firepower

Alexander Zverev shrugged off a rowdy centre court crowd at a floodlit Rod Laver Arena to sail into the third round with an impressive 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 win over local journeyman John Millman.

The rangy German appeared determined to belt the cover off the ball through the two-hour romp, and world No. 89 Millman was powerless to withstand the firepower despite enjoying rowdy support in the terraces.

“I feel good, I won. I could really feel that you guys have been in lockdown for two years,” third seed Zverev joked in his courtside interview of the reception.

Rafael Nadal put on a clinical performance to ease past German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, keeping the Spaniard on course for a men’s record 21st grand slam title.

The only former champion left in the men’s draw at Melbourne Park, Nadal is tied on 20 majors with Roger Federer and world number one Novak Djokovic, who are both absent from the tournament.

While Nadal’s record bid may be hogging the spotlight, another Spaniard is quietly plotting his own assault on the title at the tender age of 18.

Alcaraz warning

Next Gen ATP Finals champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced with a 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 demolition of seasoned Serb Dusan Lajovic at the 1573 Arena, setting up a clash with seventh seed Matteo Berrettini.

In a sport dominated in recent years by thirty-somethings like Nadal and Djokovic, Alcaraz is planting the Gen Z flag and having older, would-be grand slam contenders looking nervously over their shoulders.

A 141st-ranked qualifier at last year’s Australian Open, Alcaraz has come a long way in a hurry, his 2021 season laden with impressive milestones.

Now seeded 31st at Melbourne Park, he is the youngest seed at a grand slam since Michael Chang at the 1990 US Open. However, Berrettini, who beat American wildcard Stefan Kozlov 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday, is a familiar opponent.

Veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils rolled back the years with a vintage display of shot-making to thrash unpredictable Kazakh Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-0, 6-4.