MELBOURNE, Australia - Roger Federer opened his Australian Open title defense with the type of dominant display that carried him to the No. 1 ranking last year.

Federer blasted 54 winners to win his first-round match over France's Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 on Monday. He won all 12 points in the first three games and lost just three points as he raced to a 5-0 lead.

"I think the start was important for me," said Federer, who extended his winning streak to 22 matches. "That set the tone for the rest of the match. I never really gave him a chance."

Andre Agassi, always considered a threat despite his No. 8 seeding, worked his way through stiffness from a hip injury that raised questions whether he would even be able to begin pursuit of his fifth title at the season-opening Grand Slam.

He started slow before beating German qualifier Dieter Kindlmann 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.

Marat Safin, the runner-up two of the last three years, was impressive in dismantling 17-year-old qualifier Novak Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 6-1, allowing the Serbian only four winners.

It didn't take long for an upset, as No. 5 Carlos Moya lost to fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Garcia-Lopez, ranked 128th at the end of last year, broke the former French Open champion's service in the eighth game of the fourth set and served out at love in the next, making the most of a booming forehand and 43 winners.

Two Russians - fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova, the reigning Wimbledon and WTA Championships winner, and U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded fifth - advanced to the second round with straight-set victories, as did second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France. Sharapova topped Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria, 6-3, 6-1, while Kuznetsova beat American Jessica Kirkland 6-1, 6-1.

Former No. 1 Serena Williams also moved on despite more trouble with her shoes, beating Camille Pin 6-1, 6-1 in the first match on center court. Williams got 27 winners to overcome 22 unforced errors.

No. 16 Ai Sugiyama of Japan and No. 24 Mary Pierce, the 1995 winner, were among four seeded women to lose on the first day.

Santoro's mix of spins and slices gives some players trouble, but he just didn't have enough power - sometimes serving under 80 mph - to provide much more than a good warmup for Federer.

"It's as if Roger was saying to me, `Right, that's what I'm offering you today, OK!'" Santoro said. "You get the feeling that in each of his matches, he just wants to show straight off who the boss is."

The Swiss star, who won 11 tournaments last year, started this season with another title in Qatar and beat second-ranked Andy Roddick in the final of an exhibition tournament on the weekend.

Federer's next opponent will be Japan's Takao Suzuki, a surprising 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 winner over American Jan-Michael Gambill.

The 34-year-old Agassi could face Federer in the quarterfinals, but didn't seem dismayed by the prospect, since it means he'd have three more victories - and almost certainly would be fully recovered from a hip tendon injury that forced him to retire during an exhibition match last week against Roddick.

Looking leaner and fitter than last year despite the injury, Agassi broke Kindlmann, ranked only 173rd, three times in 17 chances in the first two sets, but converted all three break-point opportunities in the third to wrap up the last set in 19 minutes.

"It held up all right," Agassi said. "I woke up feeling the best yet since it's happened and with the assurance that I'm not going to sort of pull anything bad, I had the green light to push through anything I might be feeling.

"And that's what I did, I just pushed through a bit of stiffness, and then I felt like it loosened up nicely and I was OK."

Agassi will next faces Rainer Schuettler of Germany, a player he beat in the final two years ago but has since slipped to 40th in the rankings.

"I think it certainly speaks to the quality of men's tennis," Agassi said. "I'm just going to have to step up and play my game."

The biggest problem for Williams, who missed last year's first Grand Slam because of a knee injury, came when the seventh-seeded American's right shoe came off at deuce in the second game and skidded behind the baseline. Williams laced up the shoe and won the point when it was replayed.

A double-fault on the first point of the match was simply a sign of a nervous start, she said.

"But after the first game, I was OK," she said. "I thought if I just get the first game, then I'll be all right. I think that's just first-round nerves."

After failing to win a major last season, Williams said she's one of the main contenders in a wide-open draw at Melbourne Park.

"I definitely wouldn't be here if I didn't think so," she said. "I'd rather stay home. My goals are pretty much just to win my matches. I think Grand Slams will come with it."

Sania Mirza beat Australia's Cindy Watson 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 to become only the second Indian woman to win a main draw match in a Grand Slam.