Australian Open 2017 Results: Winners, Scores, Stats from Friday's Singles

Top seeds Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber both advanced with few problems from their third-round matches at the 2017 Australian Open on Friday.Briton Murray downed America's Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in just under two hours, while German world No. 1 Kerbertook 55 minutes to beatKristyna Pliskova 6-0, 6-4.Four-time Melbourne champion Roger Federer also made quick work of 10th seed Tomas Berdych, beating him6-2, 6-4, 6-4,and Venus Williams thrashed China'sYing-Ying Duan6-1, 6-0.Read on for a recap of the day's action and a look at all the results from Friday's singles matches.Friday RecapMurray's bid to win a first Australian Open title was given a huge boost on Thursday when Novak Djokovic was shocked in the second round byDenis Istomin.PerSporting Intelligence's Nick Harris, the Scot is now heavy favourite to go all the way following the elimination of the Serb:The Wimbledon champion showed no signs of being pressured by his favourite tag against Querrey.The American is a tough challenger and shocked Djokovic at SW19 in the third round back in July, but Murray had no trouble in ousting him in Melbourne.Tight early exchanges gave way to Murray dominance after he saved a break point in the eighth game and then broke straight after to earn the key advantage in the opener.Querrey only managed to win 57 per cent of points behind his first serve compared to Murray's 77 per cent, with the Briton's brilliant returning game proving the difference.Kerber was ruthless againstPliskova, winning five of the six break points she earned while losing just one of the three she conceded.It was a much more confident display from the defending champion on Friday following two tough three-setters in the opening rounds and some inconsistent form in the two tournaments she played in 2017 prior to Melbourne.As Kerber said after the clash, she is ready to take on AmericanCoco Vandeweghe in the next round, per the Australian Open:Federer's next opponent will beKei Nishikori in the last 16. The Swiss veteran was imperious against Berdych, particularly on his own serve.He won 95 per cent of points behind his first serve and did not concede a single break point, while he took four of the five he carved out for himself.Per BBC Sport's Russell Fuller, it was quite a statement from Federer, 35, who, like Murray, will fancy his chances of going all the way in Melbourne after Djokovic's exit:Due to Federer's recent injury concerns, he has a relatively low world ranking at the moment and is seeded 17th at the Australian Open.As a result, he will face Murray in the quarter-finals, assuming they both advance from the fourth round, and the winner of that clash is sure to be favourite to win the title.Stats courtesy ofATPWorldTour.comandAusOpen.com.
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