MELBOURNE, Australia -- Stan Wawrinka is true to his word.
Last year, after winning the Australian Open, he vowed that upon his return in 2015 he would go straight to the corridor in Rod Laver Arena known as the Walk of Champions to take a picture of himself standing beside his larger-than-life image on the wall.
And that is what Wawrinka did. He took a selfie.
"When I came back the first time here in the locker room, I had all the big memories from last year," Wawrinka said Saturday, after cruising to his third straight sets victory with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Jarkko Nieminen. "I came to see my picture and to take a picture with me with myself over there."
"That's the best feeling. To see my picture over there with all these amazing champions," said the 29-year-old Swiss, who has spent most of his career in the shadow of countryman Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic also advanced to the fourth round Saturday with a straight-sets win over Fernando Verdasco, and then urged the crowd of 15,000 to sing Happy Birthday to his mother back home.
After his 7-6 (8), 6-3, 6-4 win, the four-time Australian champion had a lengthy on-court interview with Jim Courier discussing a range of topics including his childhood memories of tennis, when "I was constructing little trophies out of plastic and pretending I was a Wimbledon champion."
The flashback jogged his memory. It was Jan. 24, his mother Dijana's birthday.
"It's my mom's birthday, can you sing happy birthday?" he asked the crowd. He sang the whole song live on camera and strolled off court with a wave.
Djokovic won the tiebreaker on his fourth set point when Verdasco hit consecutive shots wide. The No. 1-ranked Djokovic broke the Spanish left-hander at the start of the second set, then saved two break points with consecutive aces to take a 3-0 lead.
There was some levity at the end of the second set when a man in the Rod Laver Arena crowd proposed to his girlfriend, offering her a ring. When the woman said yes, many in the capacity crowd applauded, as did Djokovic from his courtside chair.
Wawrinka is the defending champion, but he does not want to dwell on it -- even though he enters post-match news conferences in a bright red T-shirt provided by his sponsor that says "Stan the Man."
"My focus is on the tournament this year. I'm not thinking about last year," Wawrinka said. "I had some amazing memories last year, for sure. But it's really important to stay on what's happened today, and what's going to happen tomorrow."
Wawrinka's triumph last year included beating the then three-time defending champion Djokovic in the quarterfinals and then No. 1-ranked Rafael Nadal in the final, despite having never beaten either of them before. As a result, he rose to a career-high ranking of No. 3.
This year, Wawrinka is ranked No. 4 and could meet Djokovic in the semifinals and face another final against Nadal, who has returned from injuries in a determined bid for the title.
No. 6 Andy Murray, seeking his third Grand Slam trophy, is another possible opponent for the final.
On Monday in the fourth round, Wawrinka has a score to settle against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat him in the first round of last year's French Open.
"That was a tough loss, that's for sure," he said. "It will be nice to play him again in a Grand Slam -- here."
No. 8 Milos Raonic fired 22 aces in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win over Benjamin Becker and will next play No. 12 Feliciano Lopez, who had a 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Jerzy Janowicz.
No. 5 Kei Nishikori, the U.S. Open finalist, beat Steve Johnson 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 and will next meet former French Open finalist David Ferrer, who struggled to finish off No. 18 Gilles Simon in four sets.
Gilles Muller beat No. 19 John Isner 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-4 to set up a fourth-round clash with Djokovic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.