Roger Federer reacts to a shot during his win over Evgeny Korolev today in the second round of Australian Open.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer and Marat Safin rolled to easy victories today against first-time opponents to reach the Australian Open's third round, where the familiarity factor will be much higher: They'll be playing each other.

"I'm happy to be playing Marat; we have fought some battles," Federer said after ousting error-prone Evgeny Korolev of Russia 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in just 86 minutes. "We had the epic in 2005."

That was a semifinal thriller here that Safin won in a 9-7 fifth set en route to the championship. Federer, seeking to tie Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles, has won their last three meetings, including the last two at Wimbledon.

Although Federer's No. 2 ranking is 24 places higher, Safin's talent, unpredictability and famed volatility set the stage for an early marquee matchup.

Safin, a former world No. 1, beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. He will turn 29 next week and has said he is unlikely to play after this year, so he's trying to enjoy what could be his farewell tour.

"I have nothing to lose," Safin said. "I'm going to go for it. Whatever comes, comes. He knows how to play against me; I know how to play against him."

The winner would be on track for a possible semifinal meeting against defending champion Novak Djokovic, who traded shots with No. 68 Jeremy Chardy for nearly a set before the Frenchman faltered.

Third-ranked Djokovic cruised the rest of the way for a 7-5, 6-1, 6-3 win.

His fellow Serbs Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic advanced on the women's side, though they finished with different attitudes.

Ivanovic lost last year's final here to Maria Sharapova, who is out with a shoulder injury. She was happy she played better in her 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italy's Alberta Brianti than she did in the first round.

Top-ranked Jankovic, seeking her first Grand Slam title and recovering from illness, felt she regressed while ousting Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4, 7-5.

"I wasn't really happy with my game, what I was doing on the court," said Jankovic, who needed treatment on her right foot in the first set. "I have to clean up my game a little bit and try to do the right things for my next match."

Seventh-seeded Andy Roddick had his hands full against Xavier Malisse of Belgium, a former top 20 player who had to go through qualifying because his ranking has fallen to No. 195 following a wrist injury.