Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning the match against Australia's Alex de Minaur. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
MELBOURNE, January 18 (Reuters): Roger Federer celebrated his 100th match at the Australian Open on Friday by giving young American Taylor Fritz a centre court schooling to reach the last 16 and set up a mouthwatering clash with 'Next Gen' champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Chasing a record seventh Melbourne title and his third in succession, the 37-year-old Swiss has been in ominous form at the year's first Grand Slam and his 6-2 7-5 6-2 masterclass at Rod Laver Arena was another warning to the Tour's upstarts.
Fritz, 21, was meant to offer Federer a meaningful test with his prodigious serve and powerful ground-strokes but was instead sent packing after less than 90 minutes.
Third seed Federer tied the American in knots with a sumptuous array of drop shots, angled volleys and winners conjured seemingly at will from behind the baseline.
Fans hoping for change at the top of men's tennis will look to Greek trailblazer Tsitsipas to give Federer a better shake.
Meanwhile, Rafa Nadal subdued Alex de Minaur 6-1 6-2 6-4 in their third round clash at the Australian Open on Friday after dominating the home town's top-ranked male player.
The second seed comfortably controlled baseline exchanges, forcing the young Australian to take ever greater risks to compete with the 17 times Grand Slam champion.
"I tried to make him feel that my ball was good enough that he was not (in) control of the point - almost never," Nadal said.
The Spaniard has won three consecutive straight sets matches against Australians, and will play Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.
Alarm bells started ringing at the packed centre court almost as soon as the Friday match started.
Nadal held his service game easily, while de Minaur needed 16 points to hold serve, raising immediate questions over whether the young Australian could keep up with his Spanish opponent.
It was the only game de Minaur won that set.
