There were contrasting wins for Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep as the third round was completed at the Australian Open.

Kerber continued her stunning start to 2018 by swatting aside Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-3 but Halep was detained for nearly four hours by Lauren Davis in a remarkable 4-6 6-4 15-13 victory.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both triumphed in straight sets while Chung Hyeon won the Next Gen battle to knock out fourth seed Alexander Zverev.

Tweet of the day

It was tough to know whether Halep’s epic win was greater agony for the world number one or her coach Darren Cahill.

Picture of the day

Novak Djokovic goes airborne for a backhand return against Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Novak Djokovic hits a backhand return against Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Rivalry? What rivalry?

It is no secret that Serena Williams and Sharapova are not the best of friends. Relations appeared to have become less frosty but the emoji Williams sent one of her fans who dared to suggest she wouldn’t mind Sharapova beating Kerber spoke volumes.

Murray fandom

For a long time the best known thing about Caroline Garcia was the tweet Andy Murray sent during the French Open in 2011 when he proclaimed she would be a future world number one. Six and a half years on she is moving towards making good on that promise, and Garcia was thrilled to learn Murray had backed her again in a Q&A with followers on Twitter.

Fallen seeds

Men: Alexander Zverev (4), Juan Martin del Potro (12), Albert Ramos-Vinolas (21), Adrian Mannarino (26), Richard Gasquet (29).
Women: Ashleigh Barty (18), Agnieszka Radwanska (26), Lucie Safarova (29).

Sunday highlights

Kyle Edmund is bidding to reach a grand slam quarter-final for the first time
Kyle Edmund faces Andreas Seppi in the fourth round on Sunday (Dita Alangkara/AP)

Britain’s Kyle Edmund bids for a place in the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time when he takes on unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi on Sunday afternoon.

After his gruelling battle in the heat against Nikoloz Basilashvili, conditions are forecast to be much cooler and Edmund will look to set up a clash with either third seed Grigor Dimitrov or Nick Kyrgios, who meet in the big evening match.

In the women’s draw, Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina will look to continue their progress towards a likely semi-final match-up.