Johannesburg - South Africa's top tennis player Kevin Anderson marched into the third round of the Australian Open after beating Austria's Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Anderson, seeded 19th for the tournament, will face unseeded Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Friday.
Should the big-serving South African progress to the fourth round, he could meet his nemesis, the seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych.
Anderson scraped through the first round, beating Czech Republic's 82nd-ranked Jiri Vesely 2-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in his opening match in Melbourne.
Results from the Australian Open on Wednesday:
Men's singles
Second round
Tomas Berdych (CZE x7) bt Kenny De Schepper (FRA) 6-4, 6-1, 6-3
Richard Gasquet (FRA x9) bt Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) bt Ivan Dodig (CRO) 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 4-1 ret
Florian Mayer (GER) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x14) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Jerzy Janowicz (POL x20) bt Pablo Andujar (ESP) 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5), 6-3
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) bt Alekandr Dolgopolov (UKR) 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5)
David Ferrer (ESP x3) bt Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 7-6 (7/2), 5-7, 6-0, 6-3
Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-0, 6-4, 6-4
Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
Tommy Robredo (ESP x17) bt Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 7-6 (8/6)
Sam Querrey (USA) bt Ernests Gulbis (LAT x23) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
Denis Istomin (UZB) bt Dmitry Tursunov (RUS x30) 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Kevin Anderson (RSA x19) bt Dominic Thiem (AUT) 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x8) bt Alejandro Falla (COL) 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4
Fabio Fognini (ITA x15) bt Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Vasek Pospisil (CAN x28) bt Matthew Ebden (AUS) 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (11/9), 6-1
Women's singles
Second round
Li Na (CHN x4) bt Belinda Bencic (SUI) 6-0, 7-6 (7/5)
Lucie Safarova (CZE x26) bt Lucie Hradecka (CZE) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-0
Ekaterina Makarova (RUS x22) bt Irina Falconi (USA) 6-2, 7-5
Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt Sabine Lisicki (GER x15) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
Mona Barthel (GER) bt Luksika Kumkhum (THA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Serena Williams (USA x1) bt Vesna Dolonc (SRB) 6-1, 6-2
Flavia Pennetta (ITA x28) bt Monica Puig (PUR) 6-3, 6-4
Angelique Kerber (GER x9) bt Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 6-4, 6-2
Alison Riske (USA) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 6-1, 6-1
Casey Dellacqua (AUS) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL x18) 6-3, 6-0
Daniela Hantuchova (SVK x31) bt Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 6-3, 3-6, 12-10
Samantha Stosur (AUS x17) bt Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) 6-2, 6-0
Zheng Jie (CHN) bt Madison Keys (USA) 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-5
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x30) bt Virginie Razzano (FRA) 6-2, 7-6 (12/10)
Lauren Davis (USA) bt Julia Gorges (GER) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
Ana Ivanovic (SRB x14) bt Annika Beck (GER) 6-1, 6-2