Federer gets back to work

Roger Federer showed few signs of rustiness in his first match of the year in marching to a consummate straight-sets win at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The record 17-time Grand Slam champion, who went into the year’s first major without a lead-up tournament, demolished nonplussed Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in 1hr 23min on Rod Laver Arena.

It was the 31-year-old Swiss maestro’s first official match since the ATP World Tour finals in London last November, although he played in a series of exhibitions in South America last month.

But Federer seamlessly took up where he left off two months ago in tearing Paire apart. The world number two gave Paire little respite with six service breaks, while his own serve was rock-solid with no breaks conceded.

There was little the 46th-ranked Paire could do to stop the flow of winners off the racquet of Federer, who made a smooth start to his quest for a fifth Australian Open crown.

“I do have some options in my game and I used them well today,” Federer said.

“I kept coming in at him as well to shorten the rallies and make him feel the pressure.

AFP