By PAUL ALEXANDER
Associated Press Writer


MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - Martina Hingis has quickly quieted her doubters.


Once ranked No. 1 and coming back from a three-year retirement, Hingis tore through her third straight opponent Saturday. She beat Iveta Benesova 6-4, 6-1 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on a day when the heat soared to 104 degrees.



Another Swiss star also had no trouble. Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated 30th-seeded Max Mirnyi, who played well enough to beat most players but still lost 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Federer committed only 10 unforced errors - just one in the second set - and dropped only 13 points in 14 service games.

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Seeking his seventh Grand Slam title and second in Australia, he withstood Mirnyi's blistering first serves, which reached 137 mph, breaking him four times. With Mirnyi serving at 3-5 in the third set, Federer won on his third match point with a forehand service return.


``I'm happy. I haven't lost a set, I'm through to the fourth round once again,' Federer said. ``Everything is feeling good. I have no injuries. I'm a happy person - it's all good.'


Federer next plays Tommy Haas, who beat him at the 2002 Australia Open and, more recently, in an exhibition last week at Kooyong.


``I'm really looking forward to that match,' Federer said.


Ready to pounce at every opportunity, the 6-foot-5 Mirnyi charged the net 102 times. But the tactic amounted to target practice for Federer, who whipped passing shots from both sides.


Hingis looked fresh as she took the court for a late-morning match, committing only 12 unforced errors in her 65-minute victory over Benesova as temperatures rose.


``It wasn't as cruel, brutal' as later in the day, Hingis said. ``Thank God she felt it more than I did.'


Hingis has dropped only 10 games in three matches, looking almost as dominating as when she won three of her five Grand Slams in Australia.


``I don't think I played my best tennis today,' she said. ``But as long as you win, it's always good. Always room to improve for the next match.'


That will be against unseeded Australian Samantha Stosur, with a possible quarterfinal looming against second-seeded Kim Clijsters.


Clijsters had a 6-1, 6-2 win over Italian Roberta Vinci in 44 minutes, showing no obvious signs of the hip and back problems that have been bothering her.


For the second consecutive day, the tournament invoked the extreme heat policy that calls for play to be suspended on outside courts after matches already under way were completed. The roofs were closed on Rod Laver Arena and Vodafone Arena.


Temperatures hit 104, and it was perhaps 10 degrees higher on court. Sunday's forecast calls for even hotter conditions before cooler weather next week.


Third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo was leading Michaella Krajicek 6-2 when the 17-year-old Dutch player withdrew because of heat stress.


``I felt like I was going to throw up. ... I couldn't even see the ball because my eyes were burning,' Krajicek said after having an ice bath to cool down.


One player who wasn't complaining was 12th-seeded Dominik Hrbaty. Known for his fitness, he won his third consecutive five-set match, rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the fifth against No. 23 Igor Andreev of Russia.


``I was tired already going to the match,' he said. ``If we would play inside, I think I wouldn't win with Andreev. I think it's more mental, how much you will be able to push yourself.'


Hrbaty, who already has spent 10 1/2 hours on court in singles, later lost a three-set men's doubles. He next faces fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who ousted the last Australian men's hope Nathan Healey.


Also advancing were No. 25 Sebastien Grosjean, who needed almost three hours to upset No. 6 Guillermo Coria, No. 21 Nicolas Kiefer, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, who ousted No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt in the second round.


Advancing on the women's side were No. 7 Patty Schnyder, No. 12 Anastasia Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion, No. 16 Nicole Vaidisova and No. 15 Francesca Schiavone, who scored the tournament's first double-bagel (6-0, 6-0) against Maria Sanchez Lorenzo in 42 minutes.


Playing as a wild card and ranked No. 349, Hingis overwhelmed Benesova by mixing heavy ground strokes with clever slices and angled drop shots.


Hingis won the first of her three consecutive Australian Open titles in 1997. The 25-year-old Swiss lost finals from 2000-02 and quit the tour later that season. She returned on the Gold Coast earlier this month.


``Coming into this tournament, I was like, 'OK, tough first round, see if I survive that one first,' she said. ``But one by one ... expectations definitely grow. With every match I'm getting more confidence.'


Benesova, dizzy from the heat in the second set, admired Hingis' savvy.


``She made me feel so uncomfortable because she's very clever, very smart player,' Benesova said. ``She knows exactly where to put the ball. It's like I had no rhythm.'


``It's really amazing, after three years, not playing a match, and she's really mentally strong,' she added. ``She believes in her game. She knows what to do out there.'


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