I had to battle hard, says Roger Federer

Roger Federer kicks off his 2009 Grand Slam campaign with an unconvincing win

Roger Federer kicks off his 2009 Grand Slam campaign with an unconvincing win

Roger Federer admitted he had been made to "battle hard" before securing victory in his Australian Open first-round clash with Andreas Seppi yesterday.

After a tough 2008 where he lost his Melbourne and Wimbledon crowns and saw Rafael Nadal usurp him as World No 1, Federer kicked off his 2009 Grand Slam campaign with a dogged 6-1, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 victory against Seppi in the opening round of the Australian Open.

Late breakthrough
Federer was pushed all the way by the unseeded Italian and after taking just 24 minutes to win the opening set was forced into a tie-break in the second before making a late breakthrough in the third to close out the match in two hours and 21 minutes.

"I had to get used to playing at night again and I struggled with my rhythm early on in the match but all-in-all I thought it was a good match. Seppi hits a good ball and is tough to play against," the Swiss said.

"It was a close match. The second set was a close set which was key to winning. He had many chances so it was good for me to erase those. I thought I served okay and I was pretty happy with my game.

"I had to battle hard. I had to run a lot today and put in a defensive effort in the rallies. It's hard to find a weak spot in Seppi's game, forehand or backhand. He makes you run a lot."

Federer's next opponent is qualifier Evgeny Korolev, who defeated former World No 1 Carlos Moya 6-3, 6-1, 7-6
(9-7) in his opening match.