Nadal, Clijsters cruise as Jankovic heads out

After three days of scares but no upsets at Melbourne Park, former world number one Jankovic, the seventh seed, was dumped out 7-6 6-3 by Chinese upstart Peng Shuai.

There were also wins for Robin Soderling, Andy Murray, Vera Zvonareva and Sam Stosur as the top 15 men and top 14 women, with the exception of Jankovic, marched into the last 32.

Nadal quickly resumed normal service at the very top of the game after Roger Federer's scare on Wednesday with a 102-minute, 6-2 6-1 6-1 battering of world number 116 Ryan Sweeting on a bright warm morning.

The world number one eased to his 23rd successive victory at a major on Rod Laver Arena as he continued his pursuit of a fourth grand slam title in a row, a feat achieved by only two men before him.

Image: Spain's Rafael Nadal makes a backhand return to Ryan Sweeting of the U.S. during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011.

Text: Reuters

Image: AP/AFP