Roger Federer believes he might just serve and volley his way to another Australian Open title, such is the strength of his trademark shots.
Roger Federer. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The six-time champion sealed a simple passage through to the second round on Monday night, defeating Denis Istomin with ease.
Federer downed the world No 101 6-3 6-4 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena; his 59th consecutive first-round win at a major, a run dating back to the 2003 French Open.
Since that loss against Peruvian Luis Horna, Federer has claimed a world-record 20 grand slams, hoping to gather a 21st at Melbourne Park by month's end.
Against Istomin, champion Federer laid warning signs for the rest of the field.
The 37-year-old took one hour and 57 minutes to dispatch the Uzbek, doing so without facing a solitary break point.
The Swiss great said he believed he'd found terrific rhythm on his serve, which was the basis for the rest of his game.
"I think I can trust my second serve in particular. When you trust your second serve, you can go after your first serve," he said.
"If you don't get broken much, or hardly ever, not at all, you have so little pressure on the return games, you can really try out different things.
"I started to feel that mid-way through the first set already that it was going to be difficult for Denis to get into my service games. That relaxes you from the baseline. Then good things really happen."
That included a number of serve-volley rushes in the later sets, which Federer attributed to his Hopman Cup outing.
"I think also mixed doubles, to be quite honest, helped me because I served and volleyed in the mixed doubles all the time and spent a lot of time at net," he said.
"I feel really good about it. My body is in good shape.
"Maybe it's dangerous when you serve and volley. I only did it in selective times.
"We'll see who I play and if it can be of good use. I'm happy I have it in the bag."
Federer is next in action on Wednesday against British qualifier Dan Evans, who shocked on his way to the fourth round in 2017.
- AAP
