Roger Federer was put to a bit of a test in his second round match against Simone Bolelli, and the Swiss maestro will look for a more serene outing when he faces Italian Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
Federer has been given a tough path to the final of the Australian Open this year, and those big-game instincts, like it so often does off the racket of the 17-time Grand Slam champion, will need to come out frequently if he is to make it 18 major titles with victory in Melbourne.
However, even if the likes of Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal possibly lie in wait, Federer will be wary of taking his eye off the ball in the earlier rounds, and Seppi, as he will know pretty well, is a tough customer, capable of causing an upset or two quite easily.
Having got through the first couple of rounds by dropping just one set, Federer would have been quite happy with his performances so far.
"It was good playing a match during the night and now a match during the day," said Federer of his two matches at the Australian Open 2015. "Happy I'm still in the tournament, because there for a while it wasn't looking very good because Bolelli was playing very well.
"But it's always a good feeling fighting your way out of a match, like now, and winning the last three sets convincingly and actually playing really positive tennis. I served very well. [What's] important is that you play the right way early because it's not always that easy."
Federer's difficult second round match, and possibly a third round one as well, was made all the more tricky by the fact that he had a finger injury, an injury which even he found difficult to explain.
"I don't know if it's a blister," said Federer, who called on the physio during his match against Bolelli. "I don't know what that thing is. It's the weirdest thing. I don't know. I feel it on the tip of my finger.
"Just felt really odd starting after the break, and for three, four games, it was the funniest feeling I have. I feel like it's numb and swollen. So, I don't know, I just wanted to have a chat with the [physio]."
Where to Watch Live
The third round match involving Federer and Seppi is scheduled to begin after Eugenie Bouchard vs Caroline Garcia, with live coverage in India on Sony Six and Sony Six HD. The match can also be watched online via live streaming on livsports.in.
Viewers across the world can catch the Australian Open 2015 action via a live stream on the Australian Open website.
