Four-times champion Roger Federer was in no mood to extend his Sunday too far into Monday as he raced into his 47th Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-2 6-1 6-4 Australian Open fourth round victory over David Goffin.

Federer was the last match on the main showcourt in Rod Laver Arena but because of an earlier lengthy five-set clash between Novak Djokovic and Gilles Simon, he did not begin his fourth round match with Goffin until 10.50pm local time

Federer said he was not surprised at the troubles the world No.1 faced against Simon and why it took a full four hours and 32 minutes to subdue the stubborn Frenchman.

"Simon plays every match like that. He makes you miss. He makes you go for the lines and he runs down a lot of balls," said Federer "A lot of points end in errors.<<p/>

He knows exactly what he's doing out there, and it worked almost to the very end. So it was very close for Novak and he knows that."

Federer, however, was not prepared to allow the 25-year-old Goffin, who anchored his country to last year's Davis Cup final against Britain, such leeway when they began their match.

The Swiss established the tone in the first set and had the Belgian on a string, forcing him deep behind the baseline and moving him around court to open it up where he could hit winners.

The 17-times grand slam champion roared through the first set in 21 minutes as he conceded just two points on his own serve and broke the Belgian twice.

He continued to dominate on his own serve, winning more than 90 percent of his first service points for much of the match before it dropped off in the final few games, though he was still able to seal victory in just 88 minutes.

"I was surprised it went as fast as it did," Federer added.

"It was important to keep the momentum going, keep staying aggressive and, you know, trying to get the match done in three. I was able to do that."

Federer will now play sixth-seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals and he thought the Czech would like the court.

"I have to play well. I think the court suits him," Federer said. "I think this sort of flatter bounce and faster court is good for his serves, good for his returns.

"This court pays off when you do play good and aggressive tennis."

Novak Djokovic described it as a day to forget after the Serb made 100 unforced errors in his battling five-set win over Gilles Simon at the Australian Open.

Djokovic was far from his metronomic best at Rod Laver Arena as he missed 51 forehands, 48 backhands and was broken four times.

Simon, however, was unable to capitalise as the world number one dug deep to grind out a 6-3 6-7 (1/7) 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory and book a quarter-final match-up with Japan's Kei Nishikori.

"I was obviously pleased to win the match. The last point counts. But in terms of the performance itself, I haven't done well at all," Djokovic said.

"I honestly didn't expect to make this many unforced errors. In terms of a level that I've played, it's the match to forget for me."

Andy Murray has made almost half as many unforced errors (63) in his opening three matches put together as Djokovic managed against the Frenchman.

Asked if he could remember a similar performance, Djokovic said: "Not even close. No, I don't think I've had any close number to a hundred.

"But, again, there is a first time for everything."

He added: "It gives me great joy to know that I can't get worse than what I played today. It doesn't concern me for the next one."

Nishikori will offer a similar test of consistency given the seventh seed's strengths lie in his willingness to rally from the baseline.

Djokovic tried to destabilise Simon with a number of drop-shots but they were poorly executed, with two in particular at the end of the second set helping Simon force a decider.

During his on-court interview after the match, a spectator shouted, "No more drop-shots!", to which Djokovic replied directly: "I hate to say it, but you're absolutely right."

The top seed later explained: "It's not easy when you're not feeling the ball well and when you're not moving that great.

"When you're playing someone like Simon, he senses that and he makes you play an extra shot.

"Then you're trying to cut down on the length of the rallies, go for a winner or go for a drop-shot. Sometimes you have a brain freeze, if I can call it that way."

Djokovic raised his game in the fifth set, breaking twice to take a 5-1 lead before serving out victory after four hours and 32 minutes.

Nishikori's work-out was far less strenuous as he beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4 6-2 6-4 in less than half the time, two hours and two minutes.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Djokovic said. "I've had worse situations where I had much less time to recover after long matches."

Nishikori, ranked seventh in the world, has lost all of his last four meetings with Djokovic and is under no illusions about the scale of the task ahead.

"The biggest thing is he doesn't miss," Nishikori said, "He doesn't give you any free points. I have to be the one who dictates."

World number six Tomas Berdych is also safely through to the last eight after he came through his own five-setter against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.

Berdych lost the first set on Margaret Court Arena but outlasted Agut to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-3.