Federer gets off to smooth start at Australian Open, with Tsonga, Nishikori, Raonic also advancing

Roger Federer took a straight-sets victory over wildcard James Duckworth on Tuesday, while top-16 seeds Jo-WIlfried Tsonga, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori also moved on.

Roger Federer will face Blaz Kavcic in the second round. William West / AFP

Four-time champion Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam match under new coach Stefan Edberg with a straight-sets victory in intense heat at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The Swiss sixth seed cruised past Australian wildcard James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour 46 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

The record 17-time Grand Slam title winner teamed up with former world No 1 and six-time major champion Edberg last month.

Federer coped well with heatwave temperatures hovering around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) to set up a second-round match against Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic, who moved on after Czech Radek Stepanek was forced to retire.

The Swiss great broke Duckworth’s service four times and only faced one break point in his 14 service games. He hit 30 winners with 17 unforced errors to ease through to the next round.

“It’s great fun to be playing in front of him (Edberg) and it’s been a dream come true for me,” Federer said.

“I used to watch his matches and get inspired to play this great game so to have him in my corner through the year and this tournament is very special and I can’t be thankful enough.”

Federer said the heat made for quick conditions on court and that he had difficulty finding his rhythm and getting into rallies.

“I’m feeling okay, it’s not crazy so I’m happy with how I am feeling this way right now,” Federer said of coping with the extreme heat.

Federer is bidding to become only the second man after Australia’s Roy Emerson to win five Australian Opens. He has never lost in the first round in 15 appearances.

He came into the major tournament having lost to old Australian rival Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Brisbane International over a week ago.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori was taken to five gruelling sets in his first round match.

The 16th seed was on court for three hours 41 minutes before subduing Australian Marinko Matosevic 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the second round.

With new coach Michael Chang watching in the stands, Nishikori finished the better in the 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) heat to fight off the 54th-ranked Matosevic.

Nishikori, who beat Tomas Berdych in the final of the exhibition Kooyong Classic in Melbourne last weekend, will play Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic in the next round.

The 10th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had little trouble with Italy’s Filippo Volandri, winning in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. He’s set to play either German Julian Reister or Brazilian qualifier Thomaz Bellucci in the second round. Canadian No 11 Milos Raonic also eased past Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in four sets.

No 22 seed Grigor Dimitrov beat Bradley Klahn 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to face the winner of the first round’s all-Taiwanese match, Lu Yen-hsun.

John Isner, the 13th-seeded American, retired with a foot injury and 21st seed Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew on Tuesday, as well.