Simon not so simple for Federer

Tennis:Roger Federer survived a huge fright to scrape past bogeyman Gilles Simon 6-2 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 and reach the third round of the Australian Open.The defending champion Federer had lost both his previous two meetings against the Frenchman.

However, the 16-times grand slam winner just about had the measure of his opponent on a chilly night in Melbourne.

Federer caught fire early, the Swiss master storming into a two-set lead after 68 minutes but the magic suddenly deserted him, allowing Simon to bravely claw his way level.

Federer, tension etched all over his face, demonstrated nerves of steel, however, threading a forehand down the line to break for 4-2 in the fifth set before blasting an ace into the corner on his fifth match point three games later.

In the first two sets, it seemed like Federer would cruise through to the third round. After forcing Simon to save break points in the opening game, the second seed won five games in a row to take a stranglehold on the match.

He then promptly broke again at the start of the second set and after only an hour and eight minutes he held a two-set lead. The Swiss great has been in superb form since losing to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the US Open in September.

Indeed, going into the tournament, Federer had won 26 of his last 28 matches, picking up titles in Stockholm, Basle and at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, before starting this season with another trophy in Doha.

But, at the start of the third set, the momentum suddenly changed. Simon began to find the corners with his groundstrokes and Federer started to misfire. It was a topsy-turvy affair as the world number 34 went two breaks up and, although Federer retrieved one, he immediately gave it back. The 29-year-old then made it four breaks in a row but Simon held firm to serve out the set.

In contrast, the fourth set was tense and nervy, with the Frenchman now firmly warming to his task while his opponent was struggling to find the winners that normally flow so easily from his racquet. In the ninth game, Federer slipped to 0-40 and, although he saved two break points, Simon powered a return winner on the third and duly served out to level the match.

The decider began with the very real prospect of Federer exiting at the second-round stage, and he was immediately forced to fight back from 0-30 down. In the sixth game, though, Federer found some magic and secured the crucial break.

There was still a twist as, with the clock ticking past midnight in Melbourne, Simon faced three match points on his own serve only to save them all. A fourth came and went but, after three hours and 13 minutes, Federer finally took his fifth opportunity with an ace to set up another potentially-tricky meeting with Belgian Xavier Malisse.