Switzerland's Roger Federer reacts during the match against Britain's Dan Evans. (Photo: Reuters)

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Hunting his 100th ATP singles title at this year's tournament, Swiss ace Roger Federer showed his class against Dan Evans, defeating the Englishman 6-7 (5), 6-7 (3), 3-6.

It was a similar story for long-time rival Rafael Nadal, who made short work of local player Matthew Ebden 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, while last year's finalist Marin Cilic won a hard-fought battle against American youngster Mackenzie McDonald, 7-5, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4.

For local fans, the progression of 19-year-old sensation Alex de Minaur was the highlight of day, with his gripping five-set thriller against Henri Laaksonen lasting just under four hours.

In the end, the back-and-forth marathon match finished in de Minaur's favor with a score of 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-3, to the delight of the home crowd.

In other high-profile men's matches, Grigor Dimitrov overcame Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5, and veteran Tomas Berdych was too good for Robin Haase, winning their tie 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

In the women's bracket, Wozniacki showed her aggressive side, dispatching Johanna Larsson 6-1, 6-3, while world No. 2 Angelique Kerber had too much firepower for Beatriz Haddad Maia, winning the match 6-2, 6-3, while American Sloane Stephens also made it look easy against Timea Babos, taking that contest 6-3, 6-1.

In what was another high point for Australian fans, world No. 15 Ashley Barty outgunned Chinese star Wang Yafan 6-2, 6-3, and while there weren't many significant upsets on day three in Melbourne, a notable exception came when world No. 9 Kiki Bertens crashed out against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.