Defending champion Roger Federer dazzled under the Australian Open lights to waltz through to the second round with a straight sets win over Aljaz Bedene on Tuesday. The ageless Swiss marvel, rated as the favourite to win his 20th Grand Slam title, thrilled the Rod Laver Arena crowd with a virtuoso performance. It improved his Australian Open record to 88-13 in his 19th campaign Down Under. Federer, who insists he is too old at 36 to be rated the tournament favourite, put away the 51st-ranked Slovenian with a catalogue of his signature shot-making. “I was thinking a lot about what happened at the tournament last year because it was my favourite tournament of the whole season … it was such a surprise,” Federer said.

Source: The Guardian January 16, 2018 10:07 UTC