Djokovic, Federer, Williams win on night five of Australian Open

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer swatted away all-too-brief resistance from the next rung of tennis talent on night five of the Australian Open, while Serena Williams put her challenger to bed early.

Djokovic, the world number one and top seed, was forced off his happy hunting ground of Rod Laver Arena (RLA) on Friday night, a court where the Serbian has scored half of his wins in Grand Slam finals.

The in-form Djokovic, current holder of all Slams, except the French Open, came mighty close to dropping his first set of the 2016 Australian Open against 28th-seed Andres Seppi.

Staring at a probable fourth set with the Italian, who famously knocked out Federer in the same round of last year's Open, the 28-year-old Serb fought off two sets points and won the next two to take the third-round encounter 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6).

Put under pressure for the first time all week, Djokovic displayed the composure only a double-digit Grand Slam champion can - and was clearly relieved to have kept a clean sheet, so to speak, pumping his chest and yelling in ecstasy.

In a far more subdued affair, Djokovic's No. 1-ranked female counterpart, American Williams was whisked on and off court before many late-arriving RLA fans could take their seats.

Williams cut teenager Daria Kasatkina to pieces in a one-sided 6-1, 6-1 victory that ran only 44 minutes.

Shaking hands at the net, the ruthless champion offered words of encouragement to the obviously out-matched Russian, apparently complementing the youngster's backhand.

Earlier, Federer dropped his first set of the Open against a man many consider to be the 17-time Grand Slam champion's clone and heir apparent, Grigor Dimitrov.

Plagiarism may be the the highest form of flattery, but only if it doesn't supersede the original. And when 24-year-old Bulgarian - nicknamed 'Baby Fed' due to his similar game style - poached the second set from his unofficial idol, the possibility of the apprentice surpassing his master loomed large.

But Federer, who had never previously lost to his so-called junior self, immediately settled to book a spot in the last 16 with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

With the win, the highly-decorated 34-year-old broke ground not seen before in the sport, becoming the first man to amass one thousand victories in Grand Slams.

"It's very exciting, I must tell you," Federer told reporters post-match when asked about the milestone.

"Like when I reached 1,000 (overall wins in Brisbane) last year - it was a big deal for me.

"It's not something I ever aimed for or looked for, but when it happens, it's very special.

"You look deeper into it, I guess, where it's all happened and how. Yeah, so it's very nice. I'm very happy."

Elsewhere, Australia's newest star, Daria Gavrilova, played an energy-sapping last set that spanned 96 minutes.

Gavrilova, 21, outlasted Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 6-4 4-6 11-9, keeping Australia in the running to end its 38-year title drought in the women's main draw.

The Australian public has become very taken with Gavrilova, who represented Russia until gaining Australian citizenship in 2014, over the first week of the Open.

Once again she endeared herself to a nation known for its larrikinism, reacting in shock when she produced a delicious, unintended faux pas in her courtside interview which left the crowd in stitches.

The often polarizing, yet precocious, Australian Nick Kyrgios had the exact opposite effect, with frequent on-court tirades turning home fans against the 20-year-old on Friday night.

The cooler head of Czech Tomas Berdych eventually prevailing 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the third round match.

In other third-round clashes, fourth-seed Agnieszka Radwanska played through pain to win in straight sets to book a date with Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Meanwhile on Show Court 2, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut caused a major boilover, uprooting U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Endit