MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Defending champion Andre Agassi advanced to the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-2, 6-4 win Wednesday over 18-year-old Tomas Berdych.

Agassi, 33, an eight-time Grand Slam winner, closed with an ace in 1 hour, 22 minutes and hasn’t dropped a set in the tournament.

He converted six of eight break point chances and didn’t concede one.

Agassi took the first set in 18 minutes and Berdych did not win a game for 27 minutes, until he held serve for the first time in five attempts to close the gap to 2-1 in the second set.

The former No. 1 had never played the young Czech before, making it hard to formulate a game plan to counter his youth and speed.

Berdych had more winners than Agassi, 27-23, and had more aces, 12-7, but was much more inconsistent, committing 35 unforced errors to just 10 for Agassi.

Top-ranked Andy Roddick was next on center court against another Czech, Bohdan Ulihrach.

Frenchman Nicolas Escude, winner at Doha earlier this month, had a 6-3 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Robin Soderling to extend his stretch to seven matches without dropping a set since his return this month from a hip problem that has sidelined him since Wimbledon.

Soderling beat sixth-seeded Rainer Schuettler, runner-up in the Australian Open last year, in the first round.

In other men’s matches, 16th-seeded Sjeng Schalken beat David Ferrer in four sets, Austria’s Jurgen Melzer beat Spaniard Galo Blanco in three and veteran American Todd Martin outslugged Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).

Fourth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo beat 64th-ranked Ludmila Cervanova of Slovakia 6-0, 6-2 in 44 minutes.

Seeded women’s players moving into the third round were Eleni Daniilidou of Greece (19th) and Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova (30th).

Daniilidou beat Zimbabwe’s Cara Black 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 and Kuznetsova beat Italian Antonella Serra Zanetti 7-6 (0), 6-4.

Hungarians Petra Mandula and Aniko Kapros also went through. Mandula overcame 24th-seeded Magdalena Maleeva 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 and Kapros beat Australian Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-1.

On Tuesday, Venus Williams returned after an absence of more than six months because of an abdominal injury, showing little rust and a lot of composure in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Ashley Harkleroad.

“Afterward, it was just like a breath of fresh air: ‘Oh, yes, I’m back,”‘ she said.

Clijsters had no trouble in beating Germany’s Marlene Weingartner 6-3, 6-2. Other women advancing were No. 6 Anastasia Myskina, No. 8 Ai Sugiyama and No. 9 Chanda Rubin.

Among the men, No. 5 Guillermo Coria was beaten, but moving on were No. 2 Roger Federer, No. 3 Juan Carlos Ferrero, No. 8 David Nalbandian and No. 10 Mark Philippoussis.

AP-ES-01-20-04 2221EST