AUSTRALIAN OPEN Third-seeded Venus Williams delights crowd

She overcame 23 unforced errors to defeat her 112th-ranked opponent, 6-4, 6-2.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Venus Williams put her hand over her heart in a sign of appreciation as the fans stood and applauded her effort.
She made it through the second round of the Australian Open with a performance today that was far from perfect, but pleased both her and the crowd.
In her second match since missing almost six months because of an abdominal injury, Williams had 23 unforced errors against 112th-ranked Vera Douchevina of Russia before eventually winning 6-4, 6-2.
"I feel I can bring the errors down when I'm ready," said the third-seeded Williams, who had the ankle she twisted in her first match wrapped in tape. "But I really wanted to go after her and play well."
Second-round sweep
Second-seeded Kim Clijsters was even more impressive, finishing a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Italy's Maria Elena Camerin in just 50 minutes. She was followed on center court by her fianc & eacute; Lleyton Hewitt.
Hewitt, seeded 15th, started slow but finished strong in ousting Slovakia's Karol Kucera 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-1.
Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, ranked No. 2, had a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over American qualifier Jeff Morrison. Third-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero, the French Open champion, overcame a wrist injury and advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Filippo Volandri.
With the crowd backing her, Williams showed her all-around game by going to the net 21 times. While the 17-year-old Douchevina looked good, Williams was simply better in all aspects, matching power with more power and drop shots with drop winners.
Williams faltered by double-faulting to give Douchevina her only service break to even the second set at 1-1. But she regained the advantage with four winners in the next game, starting a four-game streak to eliminate any possibility of a comeback.
"She's still Venus, she's still quick and probably she's the best mover out there," Clijsters said.
Healthy again
Clijsters had no trouble with the ankle problem that sidelined her for two weeks before the season's first major. She didn't face much resistance until the last game, when Camerin saved four match points before sending a backhand long.
"That was pretty perfect," said Clijsters, who has registered 6-0, 6-0 sweeps four times in Grand Slams. "It doesn't happen this often when you can win this well. It makes it feel good."
The third-seeded Ferrero was broken in the game he injured his wrist, but broke back in the next game. He said he felt "a lot of pain" in his left wrist initially, but after the match said "everything is OK -- I'll be OK."
He next faces Australian Todd Reid, who beat Sargis Sargsian in five sets. He had a chance to serve for the match in the fourth set, but lost his concentration and then his serve after vomiting at the side of the court.
Eighth-seeded David Nalbandian, a former Wimbledon finalist who beat top-seeded Andy Roddick and defending champion Andre Agassi in a warm-up tournament last week, had a 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 win over German Florian Mayer.
No. 10 Mark Philippoussis, a Wimbledon finalist last year and the star of Australia's Davis Cup victory over Spain in December, won a tough match against Fabrice Santoro of France 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Also advancing were 11th-seeded Tim Henman, No. 14 Jiri Novak, No. 31 Wayne Ferreira and No. 26 Albert Costa, who survived a five-setter against hard-serving Australian Wayne Arthurs.
Agustin Calleri, seeded 22nd, lost to fellow Argentine Guillermo Canas.