Top-ranked Federer breezes into second round of Aussie Open

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Top-ranked Roger Federer dispatched wild card entry Denis Istomin in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday, cruising to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Federer was broken once, when he was serving for the second set, and faced only three break points in the 83-minute match.

The overwhelming favorite for the title, Federer lost only one point on his serve in the second set until he made three uncharacteristic, erratic errors to give Istomin the break in the second-to-last game.

Federer drew a near-capacity crowd to Rod Laver Arena for the first match of the day. While the crowd was cheering for Istomin to mount a comeback and extend the match for a while, Federer finished it off with a service winner, then basked in a standing ovation.

"It's never really easy," said Federer, who met Istomin for the first time in the locker room before the match. "As long as I win, I'm happy -- it was a good start."

Istomin, a 19-year-old from Uzbekistan, is ranked 195th. Playing in his first top-tier event, he had some highlights.

He twice aced Federer as he held in the sixth game of the second set. He had eight aces overall, against only two for Federer.

"I played good today, but had too many unforced errors," said Istomin, who had 39 unforced errors. "It was very good for my career ... he gave me seven games."

Marat Safin didn't return to defend his title here because of a chronic knee problem and second-ranked Rafael Nadal, the French Open champion, is out with an injured foot.

Federer next plays the winner of Tuesday's late match between South Korea's Lee Hyung-taik and Germany's Florian Mayer.

A semifinal showdown with No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt, losing finalist here last year, looms for Federer.

Hewitt opened later Tuesday against Robin Vik of the Czech Republic.

On the women's side, 1995 Australian Open winner Mary Pierce breezed past local wild-card entry Nicole Pratt 6-1, 6-1 in 52 minutes.

Pierce, seeded fifth, made the finals at the French and U.S. Opens last year.

Three-time Australian Open champion Martina Hingis was to resume her comeback from retirement against Russia's Vera Zvonareva in a night match.

Seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder beat Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 6-4, 6-3 and No. 12 Anastasia Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion, beat Yuliana Myskina 7-6 (6), 6-1.