Federer reaches 3rd round of Australian Open

Melbourne, Jan 18 (IANS) Swiss tennis star Roger Federer qualified for the third round of the Australian Open after beating American Noah Rubin here on Wednesday.

The Swiss, former world number one, defeated his opponent 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3). Federer will now play the third round against Czech Tomas Berdych, reports Efe.

"It was a difficult first set (and a) tricky third set, of course. I had to save a couple of set points. I know it could have gone different. I think I was a bit more consistent than in the first match against (Jurgen) Melzer, where I ended up losing that second set after leading. I think I had a little bit better concentration," said Federer, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) official website.

Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, kept a perfect serve in the game against American Steve Johnson to march into the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Wawrinka needed an hour and 51 minutes to defeat Johnson 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

The Swiss star will next play 29th seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who defeated Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 in three hours and 52 minutes.

Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori defeated France's Jeremy Chardy to reach the third round.

The Japanese player, World No.5, defeated the Frenchman 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and seven minutes.

"It was a good match. Definitely much better than the first match. There were many ups and downs in the second set and in the third set, too," Nishikori said after winning.

The 27-year-old faces Slovakia's Lukas Lacko, who beat Dudi Sela of Israel 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.