Federer tested in Australian Open first round

Roger Federer admitted he had been made to “battle hard” before securing victory in his Australian Open first-round clash with Andreas Seppi today.

After a tough 2008 where he lost his Melbourne and Wimbledon crowns and saw Rafael Nadal usurp him as world number one, Federer kicked off his 2009 grand slam campaign with a dogged 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 victory against Seppi in the opening round of the Australian Open.