Federer packs off Santoro

Williams, seeded eighth, advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with a lackluster 7-5, 6-4 victory over Camille Pin, committing 44 unforced errors and dropping her serve four games in a row.

Santoro’s record 62nd Slam tournament came to an abrupt end at the hands of top-ranked Roger Federer, who needed only 1 hour and 21 minutes to beat his off-court friend 6-1, 6-2, 6-0.

Williams looked stiff, sluggish and out of sorts, trudging back to the baseline in growing bewilderment as she sprayed balls all over the court. She was clearly trying to win points as quickly as possible, venturing to the net 39 times and often going for high-risk winners.

As in his opening match, Federer was at the top of his game against Santoro, who broke Andre Agassi’s record of 61 Grand Slam tournaments. Federer won the last 10 games, ended it with a serve-and-volley as Santoro edged in almost to the service box, then clambered over the net to embrace the French.

Nalbandian had a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 win over Australian Peter Luczak.