Roger Federer was in majestic form as he swept aside Australian wildcard Todd Reid 6-3 6-0 6-1. The crowd inside Rod Laver Arena were baying for an upset when Reid grabbed an early break in the first set.
However, from 2-3 down, Federer won the next 13 games to establish a commanding 6-3 6-0 4-0 lead.
Reid, who was sick on court in his gruelling second-round match, showed commendable spirit but was ultimately outclassed by the Wimbledon champion.
Federer was on auto-pilot, picking off blistering winners and giving Reid the runaround for his third consecutive straight-sets victory.
"That always helps on this surface, which is tough for the body. I am happy to be through and hopefully I can make it a step further this year," said Federer.
"If that's a classic performance I'm happy. This was a good match. It was not so easy to play Todd, I hardly knew him and he must have played well to come through to the third round."
Federer, the second seed, is now set for an enticing fourth-round encounter with former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, who overcome Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal.
The last time the pair met came in the Davis Cup semi-final between Australia and Switzerland when Hewitt came from two sets down to beat Federer and clinch the tie for his country.
Federer commented: "It is the match all of Australia wants."
MMIX
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