Nadal in cruise control with win into fourth round

Jan 20, 2012, 3:02 GMT

Melbourne - Second seed Rafael Nadal picked up the pace Friday after starting the Australian Open with a knee injury scare as the Spaniard reached the fourth round over qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

The one-way meeting lasted just under two hours as Nadal put more distance between himself and the shoulder and knee problems that have concerned him over the past few months.

The 2009 Melbourne champion booked into a weekend meeting with the winner from a match between fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez or US 16th seed John Isner.

Women's third seed Victoria Azarenka tossed a ball into the stands in anger after late-match line calls that she thought were wrong but held on for a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of German Mona Barthel, winner of the Hobart title in Australia this month from a qualifying start.

The Balarus seed got overheated after expecting a line call out on one point and was further incensed when a shot from her opponent appeared to land wide but was called good.

Azarenka would have challenged the call, save the fact that she had used up her match quota. She took out her frustrations on a line judge on the way to victory.

Czech Iveta Benesova beat Russian Nina Bratchikova for a fourth-round spot 6-1, 6-3.