Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Top seed and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic and fourth seed David Ferrer were among Wednesday's second-round winners at the Australian Open.
The world No. 1 Djokovic dismantled helpless American Ryan Harrison 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena.
The three-time overall Aussie Open champion Djokovic is trying to become the first three-peat champion in the Open Era at this Grand Slam event.
Ferrer also beat an American on Day 3, as the gritty Spaniard handled Tim Smyczek 6-0, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Ferrer is fresh off his title in Auckland last week.
In some other top-10 action, fifth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych whipped Frenchman Guillaume Rufin 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, eighth-seeded Serb Janko Tipsarevic outlasted Slovak Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5, and 10th-seeded Nicolas Almagro cruised past fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
In other play involving top-20 seeds, No. 15 Stanislas Wawrinka topped German Tobias Kamke 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), retired, No. 16 rising Japanese Kei Nishikori bested Argentine Carlos Berlocq 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-1, and No. 20 Sam Querrey was trailing fellow American Brian Baker 6-7 (2-7), 1-1 when Baker retired from their encounter early in the second set.
Meanwhile, 22nd-seeded Fernando Verdasco whipped Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-1, 6-3, 6-2; Evgeny Donskoy upended 23rd-seeded fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; 24th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz snuck past Indian Somdev Devvarman 6-7 (10-12), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5; 26th-seeded Jurgen Melzer edged out Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-2; 28th-seeded former Aussie Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis overcame Japanese Tatsuma Ito 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; 31st-seeed Czech Davis Cup hero Radek Stepanek tackled Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-2, 6-4; and 32nd-seeded Julien Benneteau beat fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).
One other second-round result saw South African Kevin Anderson erase Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
