Roger Federer cruises into the second round of Australian Open
Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the second round of the Australian Open after a one sided affair against Slovakian player Lukas Lacko. The match, which lasted 84 minutes, was won in straight sets by Federer.
The Swiss played aggressively throughout the match and didn’t give any opportunity to his opponent. He converted seven break points out of a total of 14, and hit 37 winners to clinch the 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.
The current world number two had just one nervy moment in the match when he dropped one service game in the second set, but overall his form was devastating in the match. He improved his record to 55-7 in Melbourne after winning today’s match.
Federer was quite happy with the outcome of the match and said, “I thought I played great. I tried to play offensive from the start and see where it takes me. It didn't work; I got back and played a bit more risky and so forth. But I was able to keep on
pressing, and put him on the back foot.”
Federer also praised the 23-year-old Lucas Lacko, saying that the youngster didn’t play bad tennis at all. He stated, “I thought it was a good match. I don't think he (Lacko) played too bad himself. I saw some talent in him, too, and that's why I think
I was really happy I chose those tactics early on to pressure him. That it worked was obviously great. But at the end, I'm obviously very happy.”
Federer is eying his fifth Australian Open title and if he is able to do so, he will be the first player in history to win the title five times. This is also Federer’s 45th straight appearance in Grand Slam tournaments, which is the longest streak
amongst the current players.
This victory also gave Federer his 11th consecutive win in tour-level matches, and he has only dropped one set during this time period which was against Rafael Nadal at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Federer has come fresh from a victory in the Qatar Open where he overcame Nikolay Davydenko in the final. Davydenko didn’t have an ideal start to his campaign as he was knocked out in the first round.
Federer will be eying his 17th Grand Slam title, and his first since winning the Australian Open in 2010 in Melbourne, where he defeated Andy Murray in the final.
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