ROGER Federer hopes yesterday’s third round tie at the Australian Open will not be the last time he gets to play Marat Safin.

The world No 2 took one hour 51 minutes to oust the big Russian 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-5) and set up a clash with Czech Tomas Berdych, who beat Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6 6-1 6-3 6-4.

After the match Safin said it was unlikely he would play at the tournament again and Federer – who has had some classic matches against the 28-year-old, including an epic semi-final in Melbourne in 2005 which he lost – was hopeful the pair could stretch their number of encounters beyond the dozen they have now played.

‘‘I love playing the guy. He brings something different to the tennis world with his character, the way he is on the court and the way he is off the court. He’s larger than life,’’ the three-time Australian Open champion said.

‘‘I hope it’s not the last one tonight. If it were to be the last one at the Australian Open, I think we both kind of feel good about having played each other at the highest level. We tried to come with a good match.’’ Federer won the battle of the former champions to extend his run of victories against Safin to ten in 12 meetings.

The Swiss second seed, looking for a record-equalling 14th grand slam title, drew first blood, taking the opening set in 26 minutes as he broke the Safin serve in the eighth game before serving out the set.

The second set featured booming serves and well-executed lobs from Safin, but they were countered by a wayward forehand that continued to let him down at crucial times, at one point prompting him to bounce his racquet in disgust.

Federer’s passing shots were hitting the mark, allowing him to break Safin in the fifth game. A superb winner deep into the corner of the court gave him another break in the seventh and from there he served out the set.

The third set went with serve as the two giants dug deep into their box of tricks.

The breakthrough finally came in the tie-break after a fired-up Safin had said a few choice words to an official who called a foot fault. Despite Safin levelling at 5-5, Federer remained ice cool to close the match out.

‘‘I think I played better in the third set. Unfortunately, it’s probably a little bit too late to play against Federer to get into the match,’’ said Safin.

‘‘I had a couple of opportunities there, small ones, but still the tie-break was very close. For me, it was a chance to win a set, and then you never know what happens.

There was a small chance for me, it just slipped away.’’ Defending champion Novak Djokovic survived a stern test from 26-year-old lucky loser Amer Delic to win 6-2 4-6 6-3 7- 6 (7-4).

Delic, only in the draw because Nicolas Kiefer withdrew through injury, belied his world ranking of 127, firing down 16 aces and 46 winners in a match that lasted a shade over three hours and was followed by skirmishes between rival Bosnian and Serbian fans outside Rod Laver Arena.

‘‘I didn’t really plan to be that long on the court, of course, as you always want to finish the job as soon as possible,’’ Djokovic said.

‘‘But as I said, the positive thing is that I got more time out there, and I’m looking forward to the match.’’ Andy Roddick took one hour 39 minutes to see off Fabrice Santoro, who at 36 was bidding to become the oldest player to reach the fourth round of a grand slam since 39-year-old Jimmy Connors in the 1991 US Open.

Roddick showed the Frenchman no mercy, sending down 22 aces and hitting 50 winners, including serves, to earn a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win.

It was also Santoro’s final appearance at the Australian Open and he was not too disheartened by the loss.

‘‘It was a great feeling, even though I lost the match, because it was a chance for me to finish here at Melbourne Park against Andy on a big court, instead of losing in the first round on an outside court against another player,’’ he said.

Roddick will take on Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the fourth round after the 21st seed easily overcame Yen- Hsun Lu 6-1 6-3 6-2, who upset 10th seed David Nalbandian.