Andre Agassi kept his hopes of a fifth Australian Open title on track, marching past big-serving American rival Taylor Dent in straight sets in their third round clash at Rod Laver Arena.

After a slow start in which he trailed 4-1 in the opening set, Agassi found his groove to overrun Dent 7-5 7-6 6-1 in 112 minutes.

Agassi unleashed a stream of passing shots to break the 29th seed's heart and spirit, holding his nerve in a second set tiebreak and closing out the third by breaking Dent's huge serve in every game.

With wife Steffi Graf watching on from the stands, the 34-year-old booked his spot in the round of 16 and put himself in line to add to his Australian titles in 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2003.

Agassi will meet Swedish 11th seed Joachim Johansson, who triumphed over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in an epic five-setter on Vodafone Arena.

Johansson won 6-3 3-6 5-7 7-6 13-11 in a four hour marathon.

Agassi had no such worries, revealing the hip flexor injury which has threatened to put him out of the Open before it started last week had not given him any further grief.

"I feel good about the way I hit the ball tonight," Agassi said.

"This was a big step for me. I felt good and I felt healthy - no problems."

In the other third round men's singles match, qualifier Marcos Baghdatis from Cyprus booked himself a round of 16 berth against top seed Roger Federer by ousting 13th seed Tommy Robredo 7-6 6-4 6-1.

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