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Patna : Defending champion and World No 3 in ATP rankings Roger Federer, 37, Switzerland, World No 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, Greece, and World No 57 Tomas Berdych 33, Czech Republic, entered the Round of 16 of Australian Open at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, on January 18, 2019.
Six time champion Federer beat World No 50 Taylor Fritz, 21, USA, in straight sets 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in the 3rd round. Federer fired 11 Aces in the match to 8 by Fritz. Federer also committed 3 double faults. Federer also won 5 break points besides winning 5 games in a row in the match. His winning percentage on both his first and second serve was much better than that of Fritz.
Tsitsipas, the 14th seed, beat World No 20 Nikoloz Basilashvili, 26, Georgia, in a tough four-set contest 6-3, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the third round on January 18. Tsitsipas fired 18 Aces in the match to 14 by Basilashvili, the 19th seed. Basilashvili committed 6 double faults to 1 by Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas won 3 break points while Basilashvili won 2. Both the players won 3 games each in a row in the match.
Berdych, a former Wimbledon finalist, beat World No 16 Diego Schwartzman, 25, Argentina, the 18th seed, a four-set contest 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the third round. Berdych fired 19 Aces in the match to 8 by Schwartzman. Berdych won 3 break points to 1 by Schwartzman. Both the players won 3 games each in a row in the match.
World No 2 Rafael Nadal, 32, Spain, will face World No 29 Alex de Minaur, 19, Australia, in the 3rd round later on the day.