Rafael Nadal enjoyed another straightforward encounter at the Australian Open as his pursuit of the 'Rafa Slam' remained on track.
The world number one, who was leading Marcos Daniel 6-0 5-0 before the Brazilian retired in the first round, was pushed slightly harder by American Ryan Sweeting on Thursday, but the outcome was still a formality as Nadal cruised home 6-2 6-1 6-1 in one hour and 42 minutes.
The Spaniard, who won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year, arrived in Melbourne hoping to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.
And his opening two matches suggest he remains the man to beat, especially as chief rival Roger Federer showed some unexpected vulnerability in Wednesday night's five-set defeat of Gilles Simon.
Nadal was rarely tested against qualifier Sweeting, who is ranked 116th in the world, and asserted his authority early on, breaking in the opening game before making it 2-0 to extend his run of consecutive games won to 13.
Sweeting did get on the board but it was a brief respite as Nadal clinched the first set in under half an hour.
The match continued in a similar vein in the second, the top seed racing out to a 4-0 lead with Sweeting, despite his 6ft 5in frame, lacking the power, especially on serve, to make an impression.
Nadal clinched the second set with ease and powered through the third, with the only blemish a service break in the fifth game when a forehand drifted wide.
Afterwards, Nadal admitted he had been kept up the previous night as he watched Federer's struggles against Simon.
"I wanted to go to sleep but it was impossible," he said. "It was an amazing comeback from Simon and Roger played unbelievably well in the fifth set."
Meanwhile, Marin Cilic was another straight sets winner.
Last year's semi-finalist, seeded 15 this time around, eased past Santiago Giraldo 6-3 7-6 (7/1) 6-1 to reach the last 32.
However, 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny had much more of a struggle. He was taken the distance by Blaz Kavcic before prevailing 6-3 6-1 5-7 4-6 6-1.
Youzhny will next play Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic, who sprang a surprise by beating 22nd seed Michael Llodra in straight sets.
Another seed to fall was number 31 Feliciano Lopez, taken out by teenager Bernard Tomic.
The 18-year-old, who won the boys' title in Melbourne in 2008, is thought of by many as the future of Australian tennis and he was an impressive 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 winner over Lopez to set up a meeting with top seed Nadal.
There were mixed fortunes for British players in the men's doubles on Thursday.
Former Wimbledon mixed doubles champion Jamie Murray teamed up with Belgian Xavier Malisse to post a convincing 6-4 6-0 win over ninth seeds Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman.
However, the all-British team of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins fell at the first hurdle to the Israeli pairing of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.
The 14th seeds fought back from a set down to win 4-6 6-2 6-2.
The Spaniard, who won the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open last year, arrived in Melbourne hoping to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.
And his opening two matches suggest he remains the man to beat, especially as chief rival Roger Federer showed some unexpected vulnerability in Wednesday night's five-set defeat of Gilles Simon.
Nadal was rarely tested against qualifier Sweeting, who is ranked 116th in the world, and asserted his authority early on, breaking in the opening game before making it 2-0 to extend his run of consecutive games won to 13.
Sweeting did get on the board but it was a brief respite as Nadal clinched the first set in under half an hour.
The match continued in a similar vein in the second, the top seed racing out to a 4-0 lead with Sweeting, despite his 6ft 5in frame, lacking the power, especially on serve, to make an impression.
Nadal clinched the second set with ease and powered through the third, with the only blemish a service break in the fifth game when a forehand drifted wide.
Afterwards, Nadal admitted he had been kept up the previous night as he watched Federer's struggles against Simon.
"I wanted to go to sleep but it was impossible," he said. "It was an amazing comeback from Simon and Roger played unbelievably well in the fifth set."
Meanwhile, Marin Cilic was another straight sets winner.
Last year's semi-finalist, seeded 15 this time around, eased past Santiago Giraldo 6-3 7-6 (7/1) 6-1 to reach the last 32.
However, 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny had much more of a struggle. He was taken the distance by Blaz Kavcic before prevailing 6-3 6-1 5-7 4-6 6-1.
Youzhny will next play Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic, who sprang a surprise by beating 22nd seed Michael Llodra in straight sets.
Another seed to fall was number 31 Feliciano Lopez, taken out by teenager Bernard Tomic.
The 18-year-old, who won the boys' title in Melbourne in 2008, is thought of by many as the future of Australian tennis and he was an impressive 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 winner over Lopez to set up a meeting with top seed Nadal.
There were mixed fortunes for British players in the men's doubles on Thursday.
Former Wimbledon mixed doubles champion Jamie Murray teamed up with Belgian Xavier Malisse to post a convincing 6-4 6-0 win over ninth seeds Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman.
However, the all-British team of Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins fell at the first hurdle to the Israeli pairing of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram.
The 14th seeds fought back from a set down to win 4-6 6-2 6-2.
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