Mauresmo powers into last 32

Fourth seed Amelie Mauresmo continued her inexorable march through the early rounds of the Australian Open with another powerful display at Melbourne Park.

The Frenchwoman took less than an hour to breeze past Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1 6-2.

Mauresmo reached the fourth round of the season-opening Grand Slam having dropped just six games in three matches and six sets.

“I really felt I took control of the game. I was really comfortable on court,” she said.

“It’s another good match for the third round and I am happy about the way I played, about the different parts of my game.

“The 24-year-old’s match was out on show court three, but she can be almost guaranteed an appearance on the Rod Laver Arena as her next opponent is Australian Alicia Molik.

The Adelaide-born 22-year-old had never before reached the last 16 of any Grand Slam tournament and was a first-round casualty in each of the last three years at the Australian Open.

She dropped the first set to Claudine Schaul of Luxembourg but hit back to beat Elena Bovina’s conqueror 6-7 (4/7) 6-1 6-2.

Molik now carries Australian hopes alone after the battling Nicole Pratt was beaten by 11th seed Vera Zvonereva.

Pratt had ousted American Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round and stretched Zvonereva into a third set but then strained a muscle and could not provide the finishing touch as the Russian prevailed 7-5 2-6 6-1.

“I felt it all through the second set. It’s something that you deal with, it’s the third round of the Australian Open,” said Pratt.

“It slowed me down a little bit in the third but it’s not an excuse at all.

“I think she raised it a notch. A player like that, if you let her get a lead like that she’ll take it and the confidence grows.”

Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia, the tournament’s 32nd seed, overcame Jill Craybas of the United States 7-6 (8/6) 4-6 6-2.