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Federer wallops Hanescu to advance
Top seed Roger Federer stormed into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 demolition of Romania's Victor Hanescu on Thursday.
Federer appeared in great touch against the 47th-ranked Romanian, clubbing 52 winners and landing 67 percent of his first serves.
The Swiss maestro, who was beaten in the final by arch-rival Rafa Nadal last year, was not broken once against Hanescu, and is a step closer to extending his Grand Slam record to 16 at Melbourne Park.
Federer next faces Albert Montanes of Spain, who he has beaten in both previous meetings.
Davydenko romps past Marchenko
Davydenko burst into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Ukraine's Illya Marchenko on Thursday.
The Russian World No 6, who has been in top form recently with wins over Roger Federer and Nadal at the Qatar Open, clubbed 27 winners to outclass the Ukrainian qualifier in 109 minutes.
Davydenko, who beat the world's top players to clinch the ATP Tour Finals in London in November, has emerged as strong contender to take his maiden Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.
The Russian next faces the winner of the match between Juan Monaco of Argentina and France's Michael Llodra.
Djokovic rallies to enter third round
An agitated Novak Djokovic smashed his racket and berated himself for a slow start before defeating Switzerland's Marco Chiudinelli 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
Djokovic, who won the title in 2008, struggled to find his groove in the first set but after pounding his racket into the court and bellowing in frustration, charged through the next two sets.
Chiudinelli battled hard in the fourth set, but his Serbian oppponent had too many answers and wrapped up the match in less than three hours.
Third seed Djokovic will play Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in the third round.
Baghdatis survives Ferrer test
Marcos Baghdatis recovered from two sets down and painful cramp to advance to the third round of the Australian Open with a victory over 17th seed David Ferrer on Thursday.
Baghdatis, the beaten finalist at Melbourne Park in 2006, looked to be on his way out of the tournament before producing another of his customary fightbacks to run out a 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-1 winner.
Roared on by large groups of expatriot Greek and Cypriot fans, the unseeded Baghdatis was slow to start before he finally found his range in the third set.
The Cypriot, who won the Sydney International title last week and is a dangerous floater in the draw, then ran away with the fourth and final sets, sealing the win on his second match point when his Spanish opponent put a forehand wide.
Wozniacki coasts to third round
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki eased into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Germany's Julia Goerges.
Wozniacki had no problems seeing off her lower-ranked opponent to set up a third round meeting with Shahar Peer after the Israeli defeated Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-1, 6-4.
Wozniacki is ranked fourth in the world after making the final of last year's US Open but has still managed to keep a relatively low profile at Melbourne Park to slip quietly through the draw.
Hewitt crushes Young
Local hope Lleyton Hewitt made light work of American youngster Donald Young to ease into the third round of the Australian Open with a 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory on Thursday.
Young, a former junior champion in Melbourne, recovered from losing the first set tiebreak to surge 4-2 clear of Hewitt in the second.
The Australian then clicked into top gear and reeled off the next four games to take the second set before breezing through the third as his opponent struggled with unforced errors and wayward serving.
Hewitt will next face Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis.
Serena thrashes Kvitova
World No 1 Serena Williams galloped into the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday after she made short work of Petra Kvitova with a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
The top seed and defending champion was rarely bothered by the tall left-handed Czech teenager and set up a third round clash with the potentially dangerous Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Williams' older sister Venus at Melbourne Park last year. Kvitova did not have the best buildup for the tournament. She withdrew from the Auckland Classic with tonsillitis and was knocked out in qualifying for Hobart - a tournament she won in 2009 - before she beat American Jill Craybas in the first round.
Williams, however, was ruthlessly efficient on Thursday winning more than 90 percent of her first service points and breaking Kvitova on four occasions to win the match in 67 minutes when the Czech's angled forehand landed just wide.
Venus marches on despite late stumble
Venus Williams romped through to the third round of the Australian Open with a comfortable 6-2, 7-5 victory over Austria's Sybille Bammer on Thursday.
The sixth-seeded American raced through the first set in just 39 minutes but encountered stiffer resistance from the left-handed Bammer in the second.
Bammer forged a 2-0 lead but the seven-times grand slam winner raised her game to draw level and then moved 5-3 ahead with an opportunity to serve for the match.
Williams, however, suffered another slight lapse in concentration that allowed Bammer to break back and then level before the American was able to hold serve and claim victory when the Austrian blasted a forehand long.
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