Defending champion Roger Federer eased past Denis Istomin 6-3 6-4 6-4 as he searches for his third consecutive Australian Open title.
The 20 time grand slam champion produced 52 winners as he started his campaign in Melbourne with a straight sets victory over the world number 101.
A sizzling performance from Federer saw him cruise past the Uzbekistanian in just under two hours to reach the second round in his 19th appearance at the Australian Open.
The 20 time grand slam champion will hope for a tougher task when he takes on British qualifier Dan Evans on Wednesday.
It was a fast start from Federer who raced into an early 3-1 lead with some sizzling backhands as he forced Istomin to play deep on the baseline.
There was not pressure from Istomin, who was looking to repeat his heroics from a couple years ago when he knocked out Novak Djokovic.
A hold to 15 sealed a comfortable first set for Federer in 28 minutes in front a packed Rod Laver Arena. It was clear the gameplan from Federer was to get on his forehand as much as possible. But that didn’t stop him from producing some backhand magic now and again.
Oh my, Roger 😳🔥#AusOpen | @rogerfederer | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/AMpxWC4imf
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2019
Another break in the third game, subdued any hopes of an Istomin comeback as the world number 101 failed to create a break point in the first two sets.
Despite being taken to Deuce in the sixth game, Federer strolled on as he took the second set 6-4 in what was turning into a walk in the park.
In the entire match, Federer won 83% of his first service points and it was easy to see why as Istomin didn’t do anything to cut off the angles for the six time champion.
The third seed converted his fourth break point of the set to get the crucial break at 3-2 in the third set as it was another day in the office for Federer.
Another masterful serve secured Federer’s place in the second round as he searches for his third consecutive Australian Open title.
The 20 time slam champion gets off to a good start but will be looking for a more competitive match on Wednesday when he faces Britain’s Dan Evans.
