Nadal, Halep roll on as shocks rattle Australian Open

World number one Rafael Nadal and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep dodged an exodus of seeded players as the shocks kept rolling at the Australian Open on Saturday.

A day after Serena Williams and title-holder Naomi Osaka fell by the wayside, second seed Karolina Pliskova crashed out to leave another gaping hole in the women's draw.

Pliskova and Osaka's exits mean two of the top three women's seeds are out of the running, clearing obstacles for the likes of Halep and 2016 winner Angelique Kerber.

Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, the sixth seed, won only one game against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit, the world number 31, as she bombed out 6-0 6-1.

Croatian 19th seed Donna Vekic also crumbled to lower-ranked opposition when she lost 7-5 6-3 to Poland's Iga Swiatek, who is returning from a stress fracture in her foot.

Nadal took the court against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta after staying up to watch Roger Federer's late-night thriller with John Millman, which went to a fifth-set tie-breaker.

"I watched it until one o'clock -- it was impossible to sleep watching this match," he said.

But he showed no signs of tiredness, racing through 6-1 6-2 6-4 in just 1hr 38mins in what he called his "best match of the tournament so far, without a doubt".

"I'm improving every day, so super-happy. I did well on my serve and hit good forehands down the line, which is a key shot for me," he said.

- 'Super salty' -
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"I was about 40 percent today of my game," said Pliskova, who was at a loss to explain her lack of form. "I don't know. I was just down."