MELBOURNE - World tennis No 1 Roger Federer entertained the late night crowd at the Australian Open yesterday with a show-stopping performance as he beat Japanese qualifier Takao Suzuki 6-3 6-4 6-4 in the second round.
Suzuki, the world number 203, played his part with some outstanding tennis but defendingchampion Federer was at his brilliant best, stepping up a gear to snuff out any chance of an upset with a commanding display.
"It was a fantastic match. I had a lot of fun out here tonight," Federer said.
The Swiss, who won three grand slam titles in 2004, thrilled the crowd on Rod Laver Arena with some magical shot-making, the highlight a running forehand from outside the tramlines which passed below the height of the net for a winner.
"The forehand on the run, that's what we've (with coach Tony Roche) been working on for two weeks and I'm happy it worked tonight," he joked.
Suzuki had a point to lead 5-3 in the second set, but Federer saved it before breaking in the next game on his way to a two-sets lead.
One break of serve, in the ninth game, was enough to give him the third set and a brilliant forehand pass sealed his victory and a meeting with Finn Jarkko Nieminen in round three.
