There was no repeat of the fighting between rival ethnic supporters that marred the previous day as police and security officers beefed up their presence at Melbourne Park.

With sport back in the spotlight, Williams sent an ominous reminder to her younger rivals why she remains the standard bearer of women's tennis as she brushed past Peng despite struggling to produce her best.

"I'm feeling a little rusty, for whatever reason," Williams said. "It was definitely a lot better than my second round but I'm still trying to work on some things and hoping they'll come together."

Williams' next opponent is Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who sent Mauresmo packing with a 6-4 6-2 win.

Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open in 2006 when her semi-final and final opponents both retired injured, struggled to hold her serve against the in-form 19-year-old.

Azarenka broke six of Mauresmo's nine service games as she cruised to victory in 87 minutes, leaving the Frenchwoman rueing her missed opportunities.

"It's a little bit frustrating," Mauresmo said. "It's really the key points and the key moments that I didn't play good enough."

Shock Win

Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro proved her shock win over Venus Williams on Thursday was no fluke when she defeated compatriot Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1 6-4.

Suarez Navarro will play another Spaniard, Anabel Medina Garrigues, in the fourth round on Monday after she upset Italian 12th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-1.

Despite the bright sunshine in Melbourne it was a gloomy afternoon for the Bondarenko sisters from Ukraine.

Kateryna Bondarenko, the younger of the siblings, was crushed 6-2 6-2 by China's Zheng Jie before Alona Bondarenko lost 7-6 6-3 to Svetlana Kuznetsova, one of five Russian women through to the last 16 with the possibility of one more to come.

France, attempting to get four men through to the round of 16, made a perfect start on Saturday when Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils both won in straight sets.

Simon, seeded sixth, beat Croatia's Mario Ancic 7-6 6-4 6-2 while 12th seed Monfils defeated Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-3 7-5.