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Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka Cruise to Australian Open Fourth Round
By Nick Georgandis Mark Peterson / Corleve
 (January 20, 2012) After back-to-back days with major upsets, it was business as usual in the early session in the women's singles draw at the Australian Open Friday as all five seeded players in action advanced to the fourth round.
No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for a third straight year, and the fourth time in five years by whipping 31st-seeded Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-2. Wozniacki is 3-0 against Niculescu all-time.
Wozniacki notched three aces and saved six of seven break points, while breaking Niculescu four times in six opportunities, taking the match in 76 minutes.
The top-ranked Dane will face either American Christina McHale or former No. 1 and current 13th seed Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round.
Moving into the fourth round in a similarly convincing fashion was third-seeded Victoria Azarenka, a 6-2, 6-4 victor over Germany's Mona Barthel.
Azarenka needed just 31 minutes to take the first set, but nearly double that time in the second after losing a pair of break points.
For the match, Azarenka double faulted seven times without serving an ace, but committed fewer unforced errors (20 vs. 28) and won 67 total points to Barthel's 52.
Azarenka moves into the fourth round against the surprising Iveta Benesova, who hasn't rested on her laurels since upsetting 16th-seeded Shuai Peng in the opening round.
Benesova blew past Russia's Nina Bratchikova in just 70 minutes by a 6-1, 6-3 count to reach her second consecutive Australian Open fourth round. Benesova has never made it past the third round in any other major.
Also making it through to the fourth round on Friday were eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and 22nd seed Julia Goerges.
The 22-year-old Radwanska dispatched of Galina Voskoboeva in just 66 minutes as the native of Kazakistan was buried under an avalanche of unforced errors - 34 in all - compared to just 10 for Radwanska.
The Pole hit 80% of her first serves for winners and broke Voskoboeva six times in six opportunities in the easy conquest. Radwanska has made it to at least the fourth round in three of her last five majors.
She'll likely face a sterner test in Goerges, who herself was sorely tested by Italy's Romina Oprandi in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Oprandi didn't break easily, saving 11 of 13 opportunities and pushing Goerges into 37 unforced errors, but the German's service game - eight aces and 71% of first serves for winners - proved too strong in the end.
It's Goerges first time into the fourth round of a Grand Slam. In her breakout 2011 season, she reached and was beaten in the third round of all four majors.
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