TNT Sports
Roger Federer races into second round with sumptuous victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili
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Published 18/01/2016 at 09:31 GMT
A rampaging Roger Federer kicked off his 17th Australian Open campaign with a 6-2 6-1 6-2 demolition of Georgian battler Nikoloz Basilashvili to reach the second round.
Eurosport
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Federer raced through the match in just one hour and 10 minutes as he showed all the class and talent which has taken him to the very top of the game.
The Swiss legend is aiming to become only the third man to ever win five titles at the Australian Open - after Roy Emerson (who has six) and Novak Djokovic.
The 17-times grand slam champion shone under the lights of Rod Laver Arena to wrap up the match in one hour and 12 minutes, putting on a clinic of clean hitting.
Spared the sweltering conditions of the day session, Federer barely raised a sweat in hammering Basilashvili, sending 31 winners whistling past the 117th-ranked Georgian.
"That was a good match. I'm really pleased how I was able to play," said the Swiss star.
Having battled a flu during his run to the final of the Brisbane International, the 34-year-old, a winner of four Australian Open titles, was grateful to save his energy for more taxing encounters ahead.
"I had some decent matches in Brisbane, but it was all under sort of a cloud knowing that I wasn't 100 percent. But this was a match where I was able to focus on my game, on tactics, all that stuff. So it was nice to play that way."
Federer's only wobble came early, when he surrendered serve in the sixth game of the first set, but he responded by winning six straight games to leave the Georgian reeling.
The third seed preserved his perfect record of surviving the opening round at the year's first grand slam but faces a stiffer test against 35th-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov, a hard-hitting Ukrainian with two tour titles.
"I think it's going to be very tough, to be honest," said Federer, who practised with the mercurial 27-year-old in the off-season in Dubai.
"He's got the fitness, the power, the speed, tennis IQ, all that."
Federer's only wobble came early, when he surrendered serve in the sixth game of the first set, but he responded by winning six straight games to leave the Georgian reeling.
The third seed preserved his perfect record of surviving the opening round at the year's first grand slam but faces a stiffer test against 35th-ranked Alexandr Dolgopolov, a hard-hitting Ukrainian with two tour titles.
"I think it's going to be very tough, to be honest," said Federer, who practised with the mercurial 27-year-old in the off-season in Dubai.
"He's got the fitness, the power, the speed, tennis IQ, all that."
Studio analysis
Greg Rusedski was full of praise for Roger Federer after an imperious first-round win at the Australian Open.
He picked out some of the Swss star's best shots and explained why this was as good as he has ever seen Federer play in a first-round match at a slam.
Additional reporting via Reuters
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