Roger Federer enjoyed the kinder conditions of the night session as he beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff at the Australian Open.
After the temperature earlier neared 40C, second seed Federer saw off Struff 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in closer to 30C.
The five-time champion goes on to face French 29th seed Richard Gasquet in the third round.
Federer’s fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka was beaten in his second match since returning from knee surgery.
The 2014 champion, seeded ninth, only decided to play in Melbourne on the eve of the tournament and was well below his best as he lost 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to Tennys Sandgren of the USA.
“I think the last 12 days was more than what I could have dreamed coming here,” Wawrinka said.
“I really came without thinking I will be able to play the first match. That’s a big step for me.”
There were no such problems on Rod Laver Arena for Federer despite an impressive performance from Struff, the world number 55.
Federer, 36, broke serve once in each of the first two sets but had to recover from a break down in the third before sealing victory in the tie-break.
Asked if he had requested an evening match, Federer said: “It’s not my call, it’s [the tournament officials’] call.
“I wouldn’t have minded playing during the day because if you want to get to the top, you’ve got to thrive in all conditions.
Discussion about this post