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Women's No.5 seed Nadia Petrova has the luck of the draw to blame, in part, for her exit from Australian Open 2007 in the third round of the women's singles at Melbourne Park.

Petrova was the major casualty on Day Five, dismissed in three tense, hard-fought sets by two-time Australian Open champion, the unseeded Serena Williams who has added a genuine dash of excitement and intrigue to the women's draw while gathering strength, form and fitness after being sidelined by injury for much of 2006.

The Petrova-Williams match aside, results went largely with form and rankings on a hot, steamy Day Five where the program was hampered by rain delays on outside courts.

Williams recovered from a set down and 3-5 in the second to prevail 1-6 7-5 6-3 and she's now set her sights on fourth round opponent, rising Serbian star Jelena Jankovic who ousted Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3 6-4.

While naturally disappointed to have bowed out so early in the tournament, Petrova was generous in her praise of Williams and not at all surprised by the American's form and fitness.

"She had no other choice. She really had to fight for it and she had to stay mentally strong, and I'm sure she knew it. She had no other option, and she did it today," Petrova said of Williams.

"It's disappointing to drop out that early here in the Australian [Open] because I felt like I'm in very good shape."

"I had very good two cruising rounds. I've been unlucky here with the draw, but still, I had my chances."

And how does Jankovic fancy her prospects against Williams? Judging by her post-match media conference, there's plenty of respect, but certainly no fear.

"Playing Serena, it's always tough," Jankovic said.

"It doesn't matter if she just came from an injury or she didn't play, she always a great champion."

"I've beaten her twice before. My score against her is 2-1, so I know how to play against her. I'll try my best. We'll see. It will be a good match for sure."

Women's No.2 seed and defending champion Amelie Mauresmo also eased into the fourth round on the strength of a 6-3 6-1 victory over Czech Eva Birnerova under cover at Vodafone Arena, while No.3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was similarly untroubled in defeating compatriot Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-4 in the second match on Rod Laver Arena.

While the scoreline and the manner of her win suggest she's in compelling form, Mauresmo has mixed feelings about her performance against Birnerova.

"I really started not the way I wanted to, and was definitely making way too many unforced errors. You know, it happens," she said.

"I was able throughout the end of the first set and then the second set to really find a little bit more of my rhythm, especially on the forehand side."

Next up, Mauresmo will meet another Czech, Lucie Safarova who claimed the first set against Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus 6-3 on day five before Yakimova retired with a back injury.

No.7 seed Elena Dementieva defeated unseeded Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-1 6-3 to set up a fourth-round encounter with No.10 seed Nicole Vaidisova who edged Katarina Srebotnik 6-4 6-4 on Show Court 2.

Israel's Shahar Peer (16) and No.20 Tatiana Golovin of France traded sets on Show Court 3, before the higher-ranked Peer emerged victorious after taking the final set 7-5 with a late service break.

As a result of her success on Day Five, Peer will now take on Kusnetzova in the fourth round.

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