Federer, Djokovic, Roddick, Nalbandian cruise to victory at Australian Open

Second-seed Roger Federer (pictured) made a strong start on Monday at the Australian Open in his bid to win his fourth title in Melbourne, as well as a record equaling 14th Grand Slam singles title, as he defeated World No. 35 Andreas Seppi, 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-5. Defending Champion and third-seed Novak Djokovic, seventh-seeded American Andy Roddick and tenth-seeded Argentine David Nalbandian were also winners on opening day.

Federer, Australian Open champion in 2004, 2006 and 2007, easily won the opening set in 24-minutes, before being forced to save a set point on his serve late in the second set. The former World No. 1 would go on to win the second set in a tiebreak and on his fifth match point in the third set, seal the victory when Seppi’s forehand sailed wide. The Swiss won 52 of 68 first serve points, smashed 45 winners, hit nine aces and broke serve three times. In the second round, Federer will do battle against 20-year-old Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev, who sent Spaniard Carlos Moya packing in the first round for the fifth straight year, winning 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(7), in one hour and 51 minutes.

Djokovic, currently ranked No. 3 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, survived a close third set en route to victory over Italian Andrea Stoppini, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. After falling behind 0-4 in the third set, Djokovic was able to capitalize on three straight break point chances to prevent the match from being extended to a fourth set. Djokovic smashed eight aces, won 68 percent of first serve points, hammered 34 winners and broke serve seven times throughout the match. Djokovic, who lost only one set last year en route to winning the title, next faces Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1, winner over Brazilian Marcos Daniel.

Currently ranked No. 9, Roddick wasted no time letting the rest of the playing field know that he is a contender at this year’s tournament, cruising past Swedish qualifier Bjorn Rehnquist, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2, in the first match of the event played on Rod Laver Arena. In the opening set that lasted only 28-minutes, the former World No. 1 dropped only nine points, while breaking serve twice. The Texas resident, who is currently coached by Larry Stefanki, hit five less winners than Rehnquist’s 22, but committed only 10 unforced errors compared to 37 by the Swede. Roddick, a three-time semifinalist in Melbourne, next faces former Top 20 player Xavier Malisse, a 7-6(8), 6-1, 6-1, winner over Frenchman Michael Llodra.

Nalbandian, winner of last week’s Medibank International in Sydney, opened up his tournament with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, victory over Frenchman Marc Gicquel. The Argentine, who reached the semifinals in Melbourne in 2006 and the quarterfinals three times, smashed 36 winners, won 71 percent of first serve points and was able to break serve seven times. Nalbandian will next face Yen-Hsun Lu, a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, winner over Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.

Other First Round Scores from Day One
No. 8 Juan Martin Del Potro def. Mischa Zverev, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
No. 11 David Ferrer def. Denis Gremelmayr, 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-4
No. 15 Stanislas Wawrinka def. Ivo Minar, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(9)
No. 16 Robin Soderling def. Robert Kendrick, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5
No. 19 Marin Cilic def. Kevin Anderson, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3
No. 20 Tomas Berdych def. Robby Ginepri, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
No. 21 Tommy Robredo def. Bobby Reynolds, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1
No. 23 Mardy Fish def. Samuel Groth, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5, 6-0
No. 26 Marat Safin def. Ivan Navarro, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
Gilles Muller def. No. 27 Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-6, 4-6, 16-14
No. 28 Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2, 4-1, ret. injury
No. 32 Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Sam Querrey, 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2
Marcos Baghdatis def. Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-2
Fabrice Santoro def. Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2
Dominik Hrbaty def. John Isner, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-2, 7-5
Amer Delic def. Taylor Dent, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Janko Tipsarevic def. Oscar Hernandez, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Viktor Troicki def. Alberto Martin, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
Florian Mayer def. Lamine Ouahab, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Agustin Calleri, 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-0
Brydan Klein def. Bjorn Phau, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Brian Dabul def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
Simone Bolelli def. Kristof Vliegen, 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 7-5
Bernard Tomic def. Potito Starace, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5(8)