Nadal beats Monfils 6-1 6-2 6-3
Azarenka thrashes Meusburger 6-1 6-0
Andy Murray through to fourth round
Briton beat Lopez in 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-2
* Denotes next server
That's the end of another day which ended in routine victories for Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka and Rafael Nadal. Straight-set victories they all may have been but they were entertaining nevertheless. Thank you, as always, for joining us. Until next time.
Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Melbourne Park
"I think Nadal is going to be in the final. I fancy him to win it but him against Djokovic is a 50-50 match. Anyone who predicts that match with confidence is lying."
"Gael is always a big test, he's a great player," says Nadal. "Today I played my best match of the year. I'm very emotional to play that well again in Australia after missing last year. It's a special moment for me to play a night session in the Rod Laver Arena in front of this incredible crowd."
Picking up three match points is as simple as buttering toast for Nadal. He needs just the one as Monfils scoops a backhand return wide. A thumping.
Image source, ReutersA Monfils forehand bounces wide and the Frenchman has now made over 50 unforced errors. An attempted drop shot dribbles towards the net, but at 30-30 he's still in the game. The pair have the crowd screaming as if they're on a high-octane fairground ride as Nadal attempts to beat Monfils who is forming an intimidating presence at the net. The Frenchman stands firm in the face of one flame thrower after another before Monfils' volley tickles the net cord and falls beyond Nadal's reach. To deuce we go and there's an inevitability about it all when Nadal gains a break point and clinically secures the break.
There's no doubt that Monfils is the crowd favourite, and the spectators cheer wildly as the yellow-shirted Frenchman collects the opening two points. The 25th seed is too passive on the next point, however, and Nadal glides towards the net and hits a winning volley. Ruthless stuff from the Spaniard as he pins Monfils on his heels with a lasered forehand into the corner. But the Frenchman earns a break point as Nadal goes long, but he lacks a killer instinct. A second break point comes Monfils' way but he nets a forehand and his chance has gone.
Monfils, brows furrowed, slaps his thigh after sending a clumsy backhand wide but he makes amends with two sumptuous forehand winners - one down the line, another crosscourt - for a 40-30 lead. At deuce, Monfils then displays great athleticism, leaping to thump a backhand into the corner. Another backhand winner from Monfils sees him home and dry and there's a certain glint in the Frenchman's eyes which suggests there could be plenty of life left in this match.
BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
Sunday Herald journalist Simon Cambers: "Nadal is winning his service games rather easily. I don't think he's dropped a service game yet in this tournament. He's making mincemeat of these difficult matches."
Image source, APMore whooping from the Aussie crowd as Monfils crunches a backhand down the line for 30-15. If only the Frenchman could do that on a more regular basis. Nadal, though, reminds us all of his wizardry by threading a running forehand down the line while at full stretch to hold.
Monfils knows how to whip up a crowd. The spectators cheering the Frenchman's every point and there was plenty to admire during that passage of play - two aces followed by a loose-limbed forehand winner for one of his more convincing holds.
Sweat trickling down Nadal's cheeks but the Spaniard is soon allowed to troop back to his chair for the changeover after a straightforward hold to love. Monfils slicing a backhand into the net on the Spaniard's second serve on the last point, letting everyone to enjoy a short break.
Monfils serve-volleys his way to 30-15 and then produces an ace to inch closer to securing the hold. A super Nadal forehand and a netted Monfils backhand drags the game to deuce. Break point Nadal. Danger averted. Second break point. Monfils still lives on. The pair tease the spectators, swinging from deuce to advantage and back again, before a second serve ace takes Monfils to within a point. And he holds with some style. A howitzer out wide - his ninth ace of the match.
Will Ellwood:, external Tennis is by far the most exciting sport to watch when Nadal's playing...
A whopping 38 errors from Monfils's unpredictable, and sometimes brilliant, racquet and four double faults during the opening two sets. The Frenchman was always going to make a lot of errors in his quest to produce the unexpected, but he needs a cooler head if he is to trouble Nadal in this set. Monfils lasers a forehand into the corner for break point, making up for the sloppy forehand which allowed Nadal to level at 30-30. The Spaniard, though, holds firm under pressure and sprints towards the net to bash a winning volley for deuce. Monfils folds from there on, spraying a couple of shots wide and that's an opportunity missed.
Monfils has beaten Nadal on two occasions, with his most recent victory coming in Doha in 2012, but a third courtesy of a win here seems unlikely. He's coughing and spluttering like an old banger as this set nears its conclusion, throwing in a double fault, and his engine seems on the verge of giving up.
A lob... then a smash... Nadal retrieves everything Monfils throws at him in the opening point before turning the screw and pinging a forehand across the court which Monfils can only net. Cool serving from Nadal who bows out with an ace.
Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at Melbourne Park
"Monfils is living up to all expectations, and then some, with three double faults in that game. He's doing his best to hand it to Nadal. It feels like we might be giving him a lot of stick, given he's playing the world number one and one of the greatest players of all time, but he's one of the few who has the tools to do something against Nadal. You just feel he needs to think about his game a bit more."
The Arena is full to the brim and the majority of spectators are rooting for the underdog in the hope that this match will give them value for money. A chink of light for Nadal thanks to a double fault, Monfils's first of the match. A second double fault and, at 30-30, the Spaniard can see daylight. Inconsistent serving from Monfils. A third double fault for deuce. A faulty forehand gives Nadal a break point and it's the forehand again which ruins Monfils.
Image source, APCollecting points on his own serve is like child's play for Nadal and, at 40-0, Monfils screws a backhand wide and long, gifting Nadal a hold to love.
A clench of the fist from Nadal as he chases a Monfils forehand and watches it sail beyond the baseline. First blow to the Spaniard who senses an opportunity to tap another nail into Monfils' coffin, but the Frenchman, swinging from the hips, hauls Nadal to 30-30 and reaches a sliced Nadal backhand to produce a lovely winner down the line. The Spaniard, though, extends the game to deuce and earns a break point thanks to a iffy Monfils backhand wide. But raucous cheers soon reverberate around the arena as Monfils saves break point, launches his fourth ace of the match and secures a hold with an irretrievable forehand winner.