ROGER FEDERER BEGINS ROAD THROUGH TOUGH AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS DRAW ON MONDAY BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 16th January 2016

ROGER FEDERER BEGINS ROAD THROUGH TOUGH AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS DRAW ON MONDAY BY RICKY DIMON

epa05104176 Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a backhand shot with a large-scale racquet during a Rod Laver Arena Spectacular kids tennis day exhibition event on Centre Court ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2016. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 18 to 31 January 2016. EPA/JULIAN SMITH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Roger Federer will begin his quest for a fifth Australian Open title and first since 2010 when he takes the court in Rod Laver Arena on Monday. Federer is coming off an impressive second half of 2015 in which he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the World Tour Finals while triumphing at the Cincinnati Masters.

The 34-year-old’s 2016 campaign started in solid but unspectacular fashion. He pocketed a trio of victories before losing to Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4 in the Brisbane final–a rematch of the 2015 championship showdown, won by Federer.

This is Federer’s first season with new coach Ivan Ljubicic as part of his team. The 17-time major champion split from Stefan Edberg and hired Ljubicic as a replacement to join Severin Luthi in the box. The Croat previously worked with Milos Raonic.

Roger Federer of Switzerland speaks with members of the media during a player press conference ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2016. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 18 to 31 January 2016. EPA/SAM MOOY

“With Ivan, it was really at the end of the year (when I started thinking about hiring him),” Federer noted. “That’s when Ivan told me that with Milos it’s not going to continue. I said, ‘So you would be available? I’m checking other options, too. But are you interested at all?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I would love to do it, so let me know.’ I went through the process. At the end I called Ivan up and asked him then. He was very excited. So that was the process more or less.”

Up first for the Swiss in Melbourne is Nikoloz Basilashvili, whom he has never faced. Basilashvili is a 23-year-old Georgian who registers at No. 117 in the world. He was 104th at the time of the Australian Open deadline and was the second-to-last man to gain direct entry. Basilashvili, who has not yet played in 2016, reached the Wimbledon third round last summer by outlasting Feliciano Lopez in five sets. He has not won an ATP-level match since–aside from one retirement.

Assuming Federer gets past Basilashvili, it will only get tougher. The No. 3 seed could face Alexandr Dolgopolov in round two and Grigor Dimitrov in the last 32. Federer needed three sets to beat Dimitrov in Brisbane and the Bulgarian is coming off a runner-up performance in Sydney.

Nick Kyrgios, whom Federer recently called “refreshing for the game,” looms as a potential quarterfinal opponent. So does Tomas Berdych. With Djokovic also on the same side of the draw, it’s safe to say this could be an extremely tough fortnight for Federer.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, 2016 Australian Open, Ivan Ljubicic, Melbourne, milos raonic, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Roger Federer, Severin Luthi, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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Dimonator says:

January 16, 2016 at 7:15 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #Federer Begins Road Through Tough #AustralianOpen #Tennis Draw On Monday By @Dimonator
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Ivanovsky14 says:

January 16, 2016 at 7:31 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #Federer Begins Road Through Tough #AustralianOpen #Tennis Draw On Monday By @Dimonator
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HIGHTECHTENNIS says:

January 16, 2016 at 8:05 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #Federer Begins Road Through Tough #AustralianOpen #Tennis Draw On Monday By @Dimonator
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karelle1118 says:

January 16, 2016 at 10:38 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #Federer Begins Road Through Tough #AustralianOpen #Tennis Draw On Monday By @Dimonator
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