Caroline Wozniacki thrashes Shahar Peer to reach last 16 in Melbourne

Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open after blitzing Israel's Shahar Peer 6-4 6-0 on Saturday.  

Peer, runner-up at the Hobart International in the lead-up to Melbourne Park, bolted out of the blocks to take a 2-0 lead but soon crumbled as the Dane lifted her intensity.                                           

The Israeli waited until trailing 5-0 in the second set to offer token resistance, saving match points and prising two break points on Wozniacki's serve. 

But the Dane saved them both and sealed the match with a forehand volley to win in 77 minutes.

"She started off really well, she was playing aggressively ... I just kept hanging in there and the crowd supported me all the way," Wozniacki said in a courtside interview.

She next faces China's Li Na for a place in the quarter-finals.