Angelique Kerber defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-1, 6-0 while Danielle Collins shocked Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 in the third round of Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal defeated Australia's Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 while Marin Cilic edged past Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8), 6-3 in the third round of Australian Open.
Sharapova's victory Friday was built on aggressive groundstrokes that gave her a 37-10 edge in total winners.
Roger Federer marked his 100th match on Rod Laver Arena by defeating American Taylor Fritz 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in the third round.
Eleven years ago, Djokovic's victory over Tsonga gave the Serb the first of his 14 Grand Slam titles, a total that is tied for third-most for a man.
Halep reached the final in Australia last year after saving match points in the third round and again in the semifinals, but lost the championship match to Caroline Wozniacki.
The win improved 2009 champion Nadal's win-loss record to 57-12 at the Australian Open, surpassing Stefan Edberg's mark of 56 wins.
Sharapova won the Australian title in 2008 and has reached the final at Melbourne Park three other times.
The 15th seeded Indian team of Bopanna and Sharan, who began their partnership with a bang in Pune, lost 1-6, 6-4, 5-7 to the unseeded Spanish pair of Carreno Busta and Garcia-Lopez.
Roger Federer also maintained his 100 percent record of reaching the third round at the Australian Open - 20 times in a row.
Halep reeled off the last four games, and 13 of the final 15 points, to come back and beat Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2.
Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori were all off to winning starts in the first round of Australian Open.
Williams is pursuing an 8th title in Melbourne and 24th Slam trophy overall, which would equal Margaret Court — whose career spanned the amateur and professional eras — for the most in tennis history.
Roger Federer defeated Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 while Rafael Nadal got the better of James Duckworth 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova got out of the Melbourne heat as quickly as she could, needing just 63 minutes to beat British qualifier Harriet Dart 6-0, 6-0 in the first match.
Andy Murray lost to 22nd-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 6-2 in the first round of the Australian Open.
World No.39 American beat the Indian qualifier in a match that lasted an hour and 52 minutes.
The 2008 Australian Open champion got play started on Rod Laver Arena and needed only 63 minutes to advance.
Djokovic has six Australian Open titles, a record he shared with two-time defending champion Roger Federer and Roy Emerson.
The Swiss said he was aware of the potential of Istomin, who upset defending champion Novak Djokovic in Melbourne in 2017.
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