With the exit of Roger Federer on Friday and a week of upsets in the women’s draw, the first Grand Slam of the season has opened up for a number of players. As play nears the midpoint at Melbourne, more competitors sought their opportunity to reach the second week on Saturday.

Raonic powers his way into Round of 16

Eighth-seeded Milos Raonic squared off against veteran Benjamin Becker Saturday afternoon, and after another big serving display, the Canadian advanced with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 victory. As per usual, Raonic rode the wave of his biggest weapon in the first set. Firing 10 aces while protecting his serve, he found the one service break he needed to take the set.

It was more of the same in the second set as Raonic served well and powerfully, adding another nine aces. Meanwhile, he would break the German twice in the set. The Canadian overpowered Becker despite both playing relatively cleanly.

Becker could not find a handle on the big Canadian’s serve, as Raonic continued to pressure him. Only losing his serve once, Raonic continued to cruise in the third set and stormed his way into the round of 16. He dialed up 46 winners to 19 unforced errors in the match. It was an impressive performance by a player who continues to refine his game.

Wawrinka delivers a businesslike effort

Defending champion Stan Wawrinka met Jarkko Nieminen with a chance to take a step closer to defending his title. It was business as usual for him as he rolled to a 6-4 6-2 6-4 win.

Despite not serving well, Wawrinka struck 17 winners and broke the Finland native to gain the advantage he needed to take the first set. He found success at the net, picking his spots to pressure Nieminen with crisp volleys.

Wawrinka broke the veteran three times in the second set while dominating on his first serve.  Completely dictating play, he fired 21 winners in the set. In the third, Nieminen jumped out to a faster start, breaking the Wawrinka serve. But the Swiss champion was too consistent, regaining control of the set and winning the match on Nieminen’s serve.

There has been little buzz around the 2014 champion’s chances to repeat despite his success last season. But with a favorable bracket ahead of him and playing with consistency, that buzz may well increase in week two.

Venus fights back to advance

Venus Williams was first up on Margaret Court Arena, where she faced Camila Giorgi of Italy. And after trailing for much of the match, the elder Williams sister gutted out a tough three-setter, 4-6 7-6 6-1.

In the first set, the big-hitting Williams appeared to be taken off guard by the power generated from the Italian’s racket. Despite her 5’6” frame, Giorgi drove the American back with hard strokes, clearly forcing Williams to play forehands in the process. The strategy worked as the 23-year-old took the first set.

Giorgi continued to pressure Williams, gaining a break in the first game of the second set. And though Williams would earn it back, she would play from behind for much of the set. But with Giorgi appearing to gain control, the American finally made inroads into her serve and found a handle on her big groundstrokes. She fought back to even the set, forcing a tiebreak.

In what has become normal, Williams fought tooth and nail for every point. And in the tiebreak, despite an untimely double fault, she would ultimately take the second set with a handful of huge winners.

Having seized the momentum, Williams could see the finish line in the third set and attempted to deliver a knockout blow to her opponent. Feeding off Giorgi’s hard pace, Williams turned defensive shots into precision winners. Now, with the Italian forced well behind the baseline, Williams powered home the set and the match.

Giorgi lived by the sword during the match, attempting to dictate play throughout. By using her power throughout the match and taking aggressive shots, she accepted a smaller margin for error, which led to 62 unforced errors. The victory sets up a round-of-16 match with Agnieszka Radwanska for Williams.

Serena overcomes sluggish start, advances

Top seed Serena Williams met Elina Svitolina on Rod Laver Arena and after a slow start, rallied to the victory, 4-6 6-2 6-0.

Much like her sister, Serena dropped the first set, and the younger Williams sister suffered through patches of lethargy in her match. After digging a hole, the American appeared more engaged in the second. She jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the set but once again dropped her guard and allowed Svitolina to scrap back into it. Nonetheless, Serena maintained her edge and took the second set to even the match, despite not appearing her typical self.

In the third set, Serena still failed to display her typical fire outwardly early, but looked to tighten the vise on the 20-year-old. Finally, after several big winners, the No. 1 seed showed emotion and began to impose her will on the Ukrainian. Once she found her groove, Williams rolled to the set and advanced into the round of 16, where she will meet Garbine Muguruza. The match will set up a rematch from the 2014 French Open, where the Spaniard upset Williams in the round of 64.

Radwanska steadies her way into final 16

Sixth seed Aga Radwanska met American Varvara Lepchenko in Rod Laver Arena, and after a first set that took just 25 minutes, she took the veteran’s best shot in the second but advanced 6-0 7-5.

Lepchenko has seen her ranking rise in the last 12 months but came out flat in the first set. Adding to her difficulty, Radwanska played an extremely clean set, giving away just one unforced error while taking the set at love.

Clearly sluggish, Lepchenko called for the trainer between sets and returned to play with more fire. Despite a burst of energy from her opponent, Radwanksa gained an advantage and obtained the opportunity to serve out the set. But the American had other ideas and continued to claw her way back and evened the set. However, with Lepchenko serving at 5-6, it was the Pole’s steady play in capitalizing on key errors that proved to be the difference. Radwanska broke serve, taking the set and match.

The No. 6 seed gave away only 10 unforced errors in the match while benefiting from 37 off Lepchenko’s racket. With the victory, Radwanska advances to the round of 16, where she will meet Venus Williams.