Andy Murray removed any doubts he was not a serious contender for the Australian Open title with a clinical 7-5 6-0 6-3 third-round demolition of Austria's Juergen Melzer.
The fourth-seed showed all of the composure, shot making and court coverage that has propelled him into the world's top four and made him one of the pre-tournament favourites.
"I thought I hit the ball really, really well," Murray said. "I took a lot of my chances. I made him do a lot of running and was very confident from the second set onwards."
The 21-year-old has already beaten Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on hardcourts in the past month and his confidence was no more evident when he sealed the second set with a nonchalant volley into the open court and continued walking to his chair.
Murray, who was taken to five sets by Melzer at the US Open last year, gave the Austrian no chance to repeat the experience with clever use of angles, audacious chips and drop shots and varying the pace of his returns.
"I just felt more confident going into the match," Murray said of his feeling before he went into the third round clash.
"I knew if I played well I felt like I could go on to win in three sets if I grabbed the first set.
"He's one of those guys that, when he's behind, he's dangerous because he doesn't think a whole lot.
"I think when it starts to get close against him and he starts thinking is when he starts to make more mistakes, like at the end of the first set.
"But when he gets ahead, you know, he can start serving well and he can get confident. The start was very important.
"I do think I played much better today than at the U.S. Open."
The victory secured a fourth round clash with Spain's 14th seed Fernando Verdasco, who thrashed Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-0 6-0.
"I haven't really seen a whole lot of his match," Murray said of the Spanish left hander.
"I think Stepanek, I don't know if he had something wrong with him or not, but he didn't look like he was particularly interested.
"Against Verdasco, I really have to use my head.
"I have a very good record against left handers. The only one I've lost to on the tour has been Nadal.
"I need to use my head, make him do a lot of thinking and moving (and) if I play like I did tonight, I can definitely win that one."
