Australia Open - Federer through
Published:Tuesday | January 15, 2008 | 2:14 PM
Roger Federer banished any fears about his fitness with a dazzling 6-0, 6-3, 6-0 win over Diego Hartfield to begin the defence of his Australian Open title.
The world number one came into tournament without any match practice after suffering a stomach virus.
Third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and home hope Lleyton Hewitt, seeded 19, also recorded straight-sets wins.
Djokovic beat Benjamin Becker 6-0, 6-2, 7-6, while Hewitt matched Federer\'s scoreline as he thrashed Belgium\'s Steve Darcis.
Hewitt next faces Uzbekistan wildcard Dennis Istomin where victory will set up a third-round meeting with 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis or former champion Marat Safin.
Other qualifiers were Fernando Gonzalez, David Nalbandian, Robin Haase.
Venus Williams reached the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Yan Zi.
Also advancing were Russian second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanovic, Anna Chakvetadze and Daniela Hantuchova.