Roddick set for Safin collision

Andy Roddick and Marat Safin, travelling down distinctly different roads yesterday, headed for an explosive third-round collision at the Australian Open.

The American sixth seed came out firing against Frenchman Marc Gicquel and accelerated to a 6-3 7-6 6-4 win. Safin, champion in 2005, again chose a more winding route. He made things difficult for himself as he was stretched to five sets for a second successive match before steering past Israeli qualifier Dudi Sela 6-3 5-7 4-6 7-6 6-0.

The Russian has now won 26 of 37 five-set matches in his career but cannot afford such lapses against a man who owns the fastest serve in the game.

"We're both better than a third round match-up against each other but that's the way it shakes out," said Roddick.

Champions Roger Federer and Amelie Mauresmo put tennis back under the spotlight at Melbourne Park after the opening days' troubles.

On-court action during the first two days of the grand slam was overshadowed by brawling fans and the sweltering conditions.

Yesterday, Federer set the agenda as his pursuit of a 10th grand slam title gathered pace with a 6-2 6-3 6-2 win over Jonas Bjorkman.

Mauresmo enjoyed an even more one-sided 6-2 6-2 success against Russian teenager Olga Poutchkova, although one incident brought into question the validity of the instant replay technology being used at the event for the first time.

Mauresmo challenged a call against her on set point in the first set but a confusing television graphic showed the ball had bounced beyond the baseline, with the caption reading 'IN', leading the chair umpire to ask the players to replay the point.

"That was a very strange one," Mauresmo said.

Baghdatis eliminated

Up next for Federer is 25th seed Mikhail Youzhny, although one player the Swiss great will not be facing is Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.

The enigmatic 11th seed, whose fairytale run to last year's final was ended by Federer, lost in four sets to Gael Monfils, who now meets fellow 20-year-old Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

While Federer barely broke sweat, WTA chairman Larry Scott said the tournament's extreme heat policy needed a review after Tuesday's sizzling temperatures caused distress to competitors.

"Player health and well-being is our top priority and I was very concerned about the conditions," Scott said.

He was speaking after women's top seed Maria Sharapova struggled to last the distance in her match on Tuesday.

"What happened this week is going to cause us to take another look at the heat policy," added Scott.

Twice former champion Serena Williams staggered and then powered her way to a 7-6 6-2 victory. With fifth seed Nadia Petrova up next for the American, she will not want her mind wandering as it did yesterday.

Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Petrova seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the humid conditions after both ended up on the casualty list at last week's Sydney International.

Third seed Kuznetsova romped past Australian wildcard Monique Adamczak 6-2 6-1 and Petrova was equally emphatic in her 6-1 6-2 win over Gisela Dulko.

Seventh seed Elena Dementieva also progressed. The Russians were joined in the third round by in-form Serbian 11th seed Jelena Jankovic, a 6-2 6-2 winner over Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain.

With Tuesday's draining conditions having caused the suspension of many matches, seeds Patty Schnyder, Dinara Safina and Daniela Hantuchova were all relieved to win their delayed first-round matches in straight sets.