Federer back in business crushes Moya

Davis Cup teammates Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka had quick one-hour wins at the Kooyong Classic on Wednesday as the Australian Open tune-up began in straight-set style.

The opening day at the eight-man special event went the way of the world number two and his 16th-ranked Olympic gold medal doubles partner. Wawrinka maintained the misery for 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, pounding the out-of-sorts Cypriot 6-2 6-2.

Federer quickly adjusted to conditions at the former home of the Open until two decades ago, earning an eighth career victory over Carlos Moya 6-2 6-3.

In Sydney, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic finally made peace with his new racquet to get his preparations for next week’s Australian Open back on track.

The world number three blamed the racquet for a surprise first round loss at last week’s Brisbane International, but had no such problems with it on Wednesday in beating Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-1 6-2 at the Sydney International.

In Hobart, Iveta Benesova beat Argentina’s Gisela Dulko 6-4 6-4 on Wednesday to reach a semifinal against 20 year old Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova at the Hobart International.