ROGER FEDERER relied on his Grand Slam experience during the most important points to beat Noah Rubin 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3) yesterday, maintaining his record of never failing to reach the third round at the 18 Australian Opens he’s contested.

    China’s Duan Yingying also advanced to the last 32 for the first time, beating Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 3-6, 10-8.

    Duan registered her first ever win at the Australian Open on Monday, defeating Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. It’s the first time Duan has won a match at the Australian Open since her first appearance in 2014, continuing her form since the end of 2016 season where she exited Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the second round.

    Duan will face seven-time singles major winner Venus Williams in the next round.

    After back-to-back wins over qualifiers, the degree of difficulty in Federer’s comeback from a six-month injury layoff will increase exponentially. Next up he faces former Wimbledon champion Tomas Berdych, who had a 6-3, 7-6 (6), 6-2 win over Ryan Harrison.

    Also looming, potentially, is No. 5 Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist, who set up a third-round match against Lukas Lacko with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Jeremy Chardy.

    Federer didn’t play after his semifinal exit at Wimbledon last year, resting his injured left knee. He returned at the Hopman Cup exhibition in Perth this month, and opened at Melbourne Park with a straight-set win over another 35-year-old veteran, Jurgen Melzer.

    Defending champion Angelique Kerber celebrated her 29th birthday with a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-2 second-round win over Carina Witthoeft.

    The crowd sang her “Happy Birthday,” although she wasn’t entirely on song. The No. 1-ranked Kerber angrily swiped her racket in the second set in a burst of frustration that momentarily threw her off her game.

    She had two double-faults in the tiebreaker, as Witthoeft leveled the match, but regained control in the third.

    “I’m always playing on my birthday — always in Australia,” said Kerber, who had her major breakthrough here last year by beating Serena Williams in the final. “I feel like at home here. I’m 29. I’m getting older, but I think I’ll have a great day today.”

    Speaking of age, Venus Williams had to field questions about getting older after energetic performance in her 6-3, 6-2 second-round win over Stefanie Voegele.

    The 36-year-old, seven-time singles major winner played the first of her record 73 Grand Slam tournaments at the French Open in 1997.

    “It’s an honor and privilege to start that young,” she added, laughing, “and play this old.”

    Venus and Serena Williams, who have won 14 major doubles titles together, withdrew from a scheduled first-round doubles match yesterday, citing an injury to Venus’ right elbow.

    Venus thought she could manage the injury and play both singles and doubles, but decided she couldn’t after her singles match went 83 minutes.

    Genie Bouchard, who reached the semifinals here and the Wimbledon final in 2014, had a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over China’s Peng Shuai. Alison Riske defeated No. 20 Zhang Shuai of China 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-1.(SD-Agencies)