Medvedev marches on: Russian ace cruises into Australian Open fourth round as he remains in hunt for first Grand Slam title

Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev eased past home favorite Alexei Popyrin in straight sets to seal his spot in the Australian Open fourth round.

Medvedev, 23, outclassed the unseeded Popyrin 6-4 6-3 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena as he booked a match-up with Swiss 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka in the last 16.   

Wawrinka, seeded 15th, had the luxury of an early finish in his third-round match as big-serving American opponent John Isner retired while 6-4 4-1 down.   

Medvedev faced minimal resistance in his encounter with Popyrin as the 20-year-old Australian showed little sign of springing an upset in front of his home crowd.  

Medvedev has now matched his run to the same stage at last year’s tournament, when he went out to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in four sets.

This time round the giant Russian is riding high as fourth seed, and has the added experience behind him of his run to the US Open final in September.

Should Medvedev overcome the 34-year-old Wawrinka, a meeting with German star Alexander Zverev or young Russian ace Andrey Rublev would lie ahead in the quarterfinals.

Russian youngster Rublev. © Global Look Press / Keystone Press Agency

Rublev, 22, continued his superb recent form by beating Belgian 11th seed David Goffin in four sets in their third-round match.