Federer, Venus display dominance

MELBOURNE: Roger Federer and Venus Williams stormed into the Australian Open second round yesterday, with the Swiss great emphatically erasing any fitness concerns after a virus disrupted his preparations.

High-flying Serb Novak Djokovic, 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis and 2005 winner Marat Safin also progressed, as did women's second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, fourth seed Ana Ivanovic, and sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze.

The Fed Express is vying for his 13th Grand Slam crown, edging to within one of the record held by American Pete Sampras, and left no doubt that he is on fire with a straight-set demolition of Diego Hartfield.

The world No 1 needed just one hour, 14 minutes to dispose of the Argentinian 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 and set up a second-round clash with Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

"I feel good and happy to be back playing as always," Federer said.

"I was never in doubt of not playing at the Open and I had a week to recover and could have played a match at Kooyong last Saturday.

"I took an extra day off to get ready and practised at the stadium and it paid off tonight."

Williams, seeded eight, has four Wimbledon and two US Open crowns but has never managed to go the extra mile at Melbourne Park.

She is hoping to put that right this year and began with a 6-2, 7-5 win over China's Yan Zi, also in one hour, 14 minutes.

"I felt good out there, had a lot of fun," Williams said.

"I'm always looking to improve throughout my whole career, so I'm looking to get better every time, every tournament I play.

"I've come close to winning here before, I'd like to try again."

Djokovic, who burst onto the scene here last year when he lost to Federer in the fourth round, has said he is after the Swiss star's No 1 ranking and his performance on a scorching day showed he too is playing well.

"It's always difficult to be aggressive and to get your momentum in the first round of a Slam, but I was pleased to come through," he said after whipping the 81st-ranked Benjamin Becker 6-0, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

While the focus on the women's side of the draw has inevitably been on defending champion Serena Williams and top seed Justine Henin, world No 2 Kuznetsova and world No 4 Ivanovic lurk as dangers.

Kuznetsova, a former US Open champion, easily beat France's Nathalie Dechy 6-3, 6-1.

Ivanovic, who is hoping to build on a breakthrough 2007 season to snare her first Grand Slam, overcame her nerves to beat Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-3.

Russia's Chakvetadze was the first player to complete her match yesterday, barely breaking a sweat with German opponent Andrea Petkovic retiring hurt after wrenching her knee.

Chakvetadze revealed her preparations had been shattered after she was tied up by armed thieves during a terrifying robbery last month at her home near Moscow.

"I am trying not to think about it, I am trying to think about tennis and trying to forget this," she said.

China's 24th seed Li Na also advanced by defeating Frenchwoman Severine Bremond 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. But her compatriot Peng Shuai fell victim to Russia's Alisas Kleybanova 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 in a near-three-hour tussle.

Baghdatis, who became a world sporting celebrity after his run to the final here two years ago, beat 2002 champion Thomas Johansson 7-6 (0), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

The Cypriot crowd-pleaser disintegrated under the pressure last year but believes he can now better handle the attention.

"This year I'm more experienced than last year. I've spent two whole years in the circuit. That's helped me to gain some experience and confidence, and I think that's the main difference," he said.

The moody Safin, who won in 2005 and has been runner-up twice, gave promise of a resurgence after slipping down the rankings with a 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

"I just need to play more matches and it's going to come up. I'm playing well, moving well," Safin said.

Hewitt, a former US Open and Wimbledon champion who has struggled to revisit past form, breezed past Belgian Steve Darcis 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 to keep local hopes alive.

AFP

(China Daily 01/16/2008 page24)