Glamour girls Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic have advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday while Ekaterina Makarova grabbed another upset, this time at the expense of fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva, the No.7 seed.
And while French No.9 seed Marion Bartoli also bowed out, there were no such worries for second-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova, who advanced after being handed an early finish thanks to an injury to Maria Kirilenko.
German 14th seed Sabine Lisicki is through to the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the first time, while unseeded Italian Sara Errani is also through to the last 16.
Having conceded only two games in total in her first two matches, 2008 champion Sharapova continued on her miserly way at Melbourne Park against German 30th seed Angelique Kerber, winning 6-1 6-2.
But the score didn't fully reflect the fight that Kerber showed, particularly in the second set, before she was eventually blown away by Sharapova's power hitting, 34 winners to just 14 being a truer reflection of the gulf in class between the pair.
The 87-minute win sets up a fourth-round meeting with Lisicki, who was down by a set and a break against Sharapova's 18th-seeded compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova but rallied to win 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Two days after sending Estonian 25th seed Kaia Kanepi packing, Makarova made it back-to-back boilovers when she overcame an early 3-0 deficit against Zvonareva and then also the disappointment of failing to serve out the set at 6-5.
She would eventually take the opening set in the tie-breaker and from there it was all Makarova as she broke twice more in the second before eventually serving it out to complete a 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 victory.
Having now reached the last 16 at a Grand Slam for just the third time at her 18th attempt, Makarova may not have it any easier next up when she could face American 12th seed and four-time champion Serena Williams, who clashes with Hungarian Greta Arn on Saturday night.
Earlier, Wimbledon champion Kvitova was leading 6-0 1-0 with a break in the second set - having already struck 20 winners - and had been on court only 38 minutes when a groin injury forced Russian 27th seed Kirilenko to retire.
Kirilenko injured herself in the first game and then made it worse attempting a serve volley in the fifth game. But while she took two breaks to receive treatment, it was in vain as she conceded defeat.
Next up for Kvitova, who reached the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, will be 2008 finalist Ivanovic, who had to fight back in the second set in order to see off American Vania King 6-3 6-4.
Ivanovic has endured a lean run since winning the French Open in 2008, and this is just the fifth time from her past 15 Grand Slams that she's through to the last 16, although she will have to tighten her game after mixing 22 winners with 29 unforced errors.
Ivanovic was also broken three times in the match but will take some confidence into her clash with Kvitova having won their three meetings so far, although the last of them was three years ago in Brisbane.
Errani dropped the first set but fought back to win 6-7 (6-8) 6-0 6-2 against Sam Stosur's Romanian conqueror Sorana Cirstea, who struggled with a lower back injury in the final two sets.
And she'll face another unseeded player in the fourth round after China's Zheng Jie sent Bartoli packing 6-3 6-3.