MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer reached the third round of the Australian Open, where he is trying to equal Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles.
Federer was dominating in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory today over No. 118 Evgeny Korolev, a Russian who has never made it past the second round in a major. It took just 86 minutes.
Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic also cruised into the third round, with both 21-year-old Serbs looking as if they could make another memorable run in the season’s first major.
Ivanovic beat Italian Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena, and defending men’s champion Djokovic followed with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
Top-ranked Jelena Jankovic, the only one of the emerging Serbian trio without a major title, had a little more trouble advancing.
She held on for a 6-4, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Jankovic needed a medical timeout for treatment on her right foot in the first set and was broken three times in a 1-hour, 46-minute match.
Chardy matched the third-ranked Djokovic shot for shot before wilting while trying to force a tiebreaker in the first set.
Djokovic, who ended Federer’s 19-match winning streak at Melbourne Park in last year’s semifinals, was dominating on his serve against Chardy, faltering only when he was broken at love while serving for the match. But he broke right back, finishing it off when Chardy netted a forehand on match point.
Ivanovic lost the last Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova, then won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open and gained the No. 1 ranking. Now seeded fifth, she is drawing inspiration from her last run here. Sharapova is not defending the title because of a shoulder injury.
“I was in this situation before French Open last year, coming into the tournament as pretty serious finalist,” she said. “That experience will help me a lot to approach this Australian Open.”
No. 3 Dinara Safina overcame 44 unforced errors in a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-0 win over fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
Safina’s brother, 2005 champion Marat Safin, beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a third-round matchup with Federer, whom he beat en route to his title here four years ago.
Australian Open glance
A look at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park today:
Key men’s matches today: No. 2 Roger Federer vs. Evgeny Korolev; No. 3 Novak Djokovic def. Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-1, 6-3; No. 7 Andy Roddick vs. Xavier Malisse.
Key women’s matches today: No. 1 Jelena Jankovic vs. Kirsten Flipkens; No. 3 Dinara Safina def. Ekaterina Makarova 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-0; No. 5 Ana Ivanovic def. Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-2.
Stat of the day: 47 — number of winners by Rafael Nadal in 22 games against Christophe Rochus.
Quote of the day: “I’m 35 years old in few days. What am I, Armstrong? No, I’m not.” — Romania’s Andrei Pavel, comparing himself to cyclist Lance Armstrong. Pavel retired from his match, and quite possibly from professional tennis, against Andy Murray with back pain.
On TV today: 1 p.m., 9 p.m., 1:30 a.m., ESPN2. The Associated Press
