Tennis-Wawrinka safely through to fourth round

MELBOURNE, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Defending champion Stan Wawrinka avoided the same fate that befell compatriot Roger Federer on Friday with a comfortable victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen to move into the Australian Open fourth round. The 29-year-old Swiss, appearing on Rod Laver Arena virtually 24 hours after Federer had been shocked by Andreas Seppi on the same court, did not allow the tricky lefthander any opportunities to do the same in the 6-4 6-2 6-4 win. Wawrinka actually had major troubles with his first serve, with it hovering at less than 50 percent for much of the match, but still managed to win his service games and dominate the majority of the short rallies. He will now meet either Canada's Vasik Pospisil or Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the fourth round. (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)