The cards continue to fall beautifully at the Australian Open for local hope Ashleigh Barty as she looks to extend her best singles run at a major.
Rejuvenated after an 18-month sabbatical from tennis during which time she tried her hand at cricket, Barty will take on German qualifier Mona Barthel in the third round on Friday.
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Kyrgios implodes as Barty and Tomic progress
Nick Kyrgios has imploded from two sets up to be knocked out of the Australian Open in day three as Ashleigh Barty and Bernard Tomic progress to the next round.
Barthel shocked 2016 Olympic champ Monica Puig from Puerto Rico 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday, while Barty also advanced in straight sets against American Shelby Rogers, who had claimed the scalp of world No.4 Simona Halep in the opening round.
That string of upsets left world No.223 Barty to square off against Barthel, whose ranking slipped to 181 after she spent four and a half months on the sidelines last year recovering from a back injury.
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The German has never ventured further than the round of 32 in 24 successive major campaigns.
Barty's previous best grand slam results have come in doubles, where she reached the title match at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2013 alongside great friend Casey Dellacqua.
Dellacqua is partnering Barty in the women's doubles again this year at Melbourne Park, having played a key role in convincing the 20-year-old to give tennis another serious shot.
"She didn't really have to talk me into it," said Barty.
"I think deep down I knew it was the right time anyway.
"It was nice to have 'Case' there.
"She's like a big sister to me and it was nice to to have her to chat through it with."
Barty will take a "nothing to lose" approach into her clash with Barthel, who won their only previous encounter.
"She absolutely flogged me off the court," admitted Barty of the 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 loss at the 2013 Hobart International.
"It's an opportunity to go out there and have fun and just enjoy it.
"It's a bonus from where we are right now."
AAP