Australian Open 2014: Serena Williams vs. Daniela Hantuchova, Novak Djkovic vs. Dennis Istomin: Live Stream, Schedule of Play & Match Updates

The 2014 Australian Open championship moves on to the fifth day of competition with high-profile names like Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer and Li Na all scheduled for their third round matches on Friday at Melbourne Park.

After four days of intense preliminary rounds of competition in both men's and women's singles, the field is down to the last 32, and from here onwards, the level of play will get even more intense.

Men's Singles Play Main Event: Novak Djokovic vs. Dennis Istomin

Former world's No.1 and reigning Australian Open Champion Novak Djokovic will attempt to punch his spot to the round of 16, as he takes on Dennis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

Djokovic, who looks to become the first player in the Open Era to win five Aussie Open titles in his career, has been masterful through the first two rounds, blasting his opponents (Lukáš Lacko, 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 and Leonardo Meyer, 6-0, 6-4, 6-4)  without dropping a single set. Istomin, on the other hand, ground out a four-set win against Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Another interesting men's singles matchup on Friday will be the battle between No.3 seed David Ferrer and No.29 seed Jeremy Chardy. Ferrer opened his Australian Open campaign with a flawless 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Alejandro González of Cambodia before beating Adrian Mannarino in four sets, 7-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3.

Other third-round match scheduled on Friday are: Tommy Robredo vs. Richard Gasquet, Fablo Fognini vs. Sam Querrey, Kevin Anderson vs. Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Tomas Berdych vs. Damir Dzumhur.

Women's Singles Play Main Event: Serena Williams vs. Daniela Hantuchova

Williams, the reigning world's No.1 women's tennis player and hands down favorite to win the tournament, will take on stunner Daniela Hantuchova for a place in the fourth round.

Former Australian Open runner up Li Na looks to continue her winning ways in the Land Down Under as she plays No.26 seed Lucie Safarova. Meanwhile, a pair of one time Grand Slam winners go head-to-head at Rod Laver Arena, as Ana Ivanovic of Serbia takes on Samantha Stusor of Australia.

Other third round women's matches scheduled on Friday are: Eugenie Bouchard vs. Lauren Davis, Ekaterina Makarova vs. Monica Niculescu, Jie Zheng vs. Casey Dellacqua.

Live Streaming & Schedule of Play

Williams vs. Hantuchova is scheduled at 7 p.m EST Thursday while Djokovic vs. Istomin showdown is set at 3 a.m EST Friday . Australian Open 2014  games can be watched on ESPN while Live Stream feed is available on ESPN Watch. Match updates and stats can be found on ESPN CourtCast.