Despite errors, Federer advances to third round

Defending women's champion Serena Williams beat the 130th-ranked player.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Top-ranked Roger Federer advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with an emphatic 6-1, 6-4, 6-0 win over Florian Mayer early today.
The 24-year-old Swiss star finished with 38 winners and closed out the 1-hour, 12-minute match with an ace.
"It's so nice to get quick matches in the heat," said Federer, whose next opponent is 30th-seeded Max Mirnyi.
"I thought I handled it well in the heat -- I'm very happy with my performance, so it's good."
Federer was so dominating that Mayer never had a game point after holding serve to pull within 4-5 in the second set.
Always a perfectionist, the normally stoic Federer did seem a little annoyed at his 18 unforced errors that accounted for one-third of Florian's points.
Shows emotion
And after smacking a lovely forehand crosscourt winner for his third break of the final set, he allowed himself a little fist pump. He finished off the match with a pair of service winners and his eighth and ninth aces, then hit a ball high into the stands.
The overmatched Mayer tried a little of everything, charging the net and flicking soft drops from the baseline, but nothing worked as temperatures reached 88 degrees. He became increasingly frustrated, shaking his head and even looking to the sky for help.
No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko, a potential quarterfinal rival for Federer, advanced 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 over Kevin Kim.
In women's matches, 17-year-old Michaella Krajicek defeated India's Sania Mirza 6-3, 7-5 and Australia's Samantha Stosur beat Ana Ivanovic by the same score.
No. 16 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 20 Flavia Pennetta were other seeded players advancing.
Mirza become the first Indian woman to reach the third round of a major with her breakthrough run here last year. She improved on that at the U.S. Open, where she reached the fourth round.
But this time it was Krajicek, a half sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, who made the third round of a major for the first time.
Hewitt in action
Lleyton Hewitt, a finalist here last year, will renew a heated rivalry with Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round.
Hewitt's center-court encounter with Chela is a rematch of their controversial third-round meeting here last year. Hewitt won and Chela was fined for spitting in the Australian's direction.
On Wednesday, defending women's champion Serena Williams had a 6-3, 6-1 victory over 130th-ranked Camille Pin to reach the third round.
Williams gave up only three points in the last three games in running her winning streak in Melbourne to 16 matches. She won the title in 2003 and 2005, skipping the 2004 major because of injuries.
"The last two times I played here, I did really well," she said. "I'm just hoping to keep it up."
Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport, the 2000 Australian champion, had to scramble in defeating Croatia's Karolina Sprem 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Maria Sharapova overcame 31 unforced errors and fended off three set points against American qualifier Ashley Harkleroad in the second set to advance 6-1, 7-5.
Sharapova was treated for foot blisters but did not appear bothered by the shoulder injury that kept her off the circuit for two months.
Henin-Hardenne wins
French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, seeded eighth, took the last five games after Hana Sromova turned her ankle badly and won 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Also advancing were No. 6 Nadia Petrova and No. 14 Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 U.S. Open winner.
Among the men, No. 2 Andy Roddick and No. 4 David Nalbandian, the Masters Cup champion, took differing paths to the third round.
Roddick shrugged off an ankle strain in a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 win over Wesley Moodie. Nalbandian beat Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
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