Roger Federer breezes into fourth round of Australian Open
MELBOURNE. January 21. KAZINFORM Second seed Roger Federer has breezed into the fourth round of the Australian Open, with a straight sets win over Belgian Xavier Malisse on Friday. Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
Swiss Federer overpowered world No.45 Belgium's Malisse 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and 45 minutes.
While the defending champion also won in straight sets in his opening-round match against Lukas Lacko, Federer was extended to five tough sets against Gilles Simon in the second round, a near five-hour match which Federer said he was he relieved to survive.
"I'm still happy to have passed through that tough test, but today was tough, despite what the score says," Federer told reporters in Melbourne after Friday's game.
Friday's match has earned Federer an Open Era-record 57th career match win at the Australian Open, which is a record that breaks the old mark of Sweden's Stefan Edberg, who won two titles in Australian Open. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version