MELBOURNE - Top seed Roger Federer survived a ragged start to beat German Bjorn Phau 7-5 6-0 6-4 in the opening match of his Australian Open tennis title defence today.
The Swiss world No 1 lost his serve three times in the first set and trailed 3-5 againstthe 27-year-old ranked 82nd in the world.
"There were more breaks than normal today, more ups and downs but he played well and came up with some good shots so there was not much I could do," Federer said.
"I had to feel my way into the match. I had hoped my serve would help me but I wasn't steady enough at the start."
Federer quickly upped his game to power through the second set in customary smooth style.
He broke Phau again early in the third set but the German hit back to level at 3-3 and started to cause the defending champion problems again with his raking groundstrokes and consistent serve.
The 25-year-old Federer, seeking his 10th grand slam title, showed signs of losing his cool but he fought back from 40-0 down to break Phau once again and clinch victory on his third match point in one hour 47 minutes.
"I am always looking for more consistency and there is room for improvement physically," said Federer, who next plays experienced Swede Jonas Bjorkman or Olivier Patience of France.
"I have to make some small adjustments on my serve but I am happy with where I am."
Federer lost to Phau in their only previous meeting, in Washington in 1999.
"I beat him quite easily back then but that was seven years and now he is the number one player in the world," Phau said.
"I'm pretty disappointed right now that I lost because I had a chance to win the first set at 5-3 but by tomorrow I think I will actually be pretty satisfied that I played quite well against him."
