Federer survives early fright

WORLD NUMBER one Roger Federer admitted he needed to ride his luck as he battled back from a set down to overcome Igor Andreev in his first-round match at the Australian Open.

The Swiss maestro produced an uncharacteristically sloppy display as his Russian opponent’s big hitting and aggressive style often forced him into error.

It was the first time in 25 Grand Slams Federer had been taken beyond three sets in the first round. He eventually wore down his opponent to win 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7/2) 6-0 in two hours and 44 minutes.

The turning point of the match was at the end of an epic third set when Andreev failed to take three set-point chances on his serve before losing the tie-break.

Federer’s recent nemesis, Nikolay Davydenko, continued his irresistible streak of form as he blasted past German Dieter Kindlmann 6-1 6-0 6-3.

Davydenko next plays 22-year-old Illya Marchenko, the world number 119, after he knocked out veteran Carlos Moya in straight sets.

Robin Soderling became the first top-10 player to bow out of the tournament in either draw when he suffered a shock loss to Spain’s Marcel Granollers despite winning the opening two sets, He lost 5-7 2-6 6-4 6-4 6-2 to the world number 113.

Third seed Novak Djokovic overcame a spirited start from Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver to win his night session match on the Hisense Arena 7-5 6-3 6-2.

Last year’s semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco was made to battle by Australian Carsten Ball before winning 6-7 (4/7) 7-6 (7/1) 7-5 6-2, however, the news was not so good for his fellow Spaniards as Tommy Robredo, the 16th seed, and former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero were both beaten.

Ireland’s Louk Sorensen made history with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei to become the first Irishman to win a match at a Grand Slam event in the Open era.

“I’m feeling great,” the world number 284 said. “It’s the biggest achievement of my career so far, ” he said. “But I believe that by the end of the year I can go maybe 150 and then I’ll see, maybe I can go higher.”

Regardless of last night’s result against the 6ft 9in American John Isner, Sorensen is likely to climb into the world’s top 200 at the end of the fortnight here.

Meanwhile, world number one Serena Williams maintained her remarkable unblemished record in the first round of grand slams with a 6-2 6-1 win over Urszula Radwanska at the Australian Open.

Venus Williams confidently negotiated a difficult-looking opener with Lucie Safarova 6-2 6-2. After yesterday’s shock loss of 2008 champion Maria Sharapova, it was a good day for the seeded players in the women’s draw as all the big guns progressed.