Roger Federer will target a serene, worry-free outing against Nikoloz Basilashvili when the two players meet in the first round of the Australian Open 2016 on Monday.

Federer, while being one of the favourites to clinch the title in Melbourne, will have to, most probably, negotiate a way past the world number one Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, and considering the tougher matches that await him in the future rounds, the 17-time Grand Slam champion will hope for a comfortable evening out at the Rod Laver Arena in the first match of the night session.

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"I don't know my opponent very well," Federer told reporters when asked about what he expects from his 117th-ranked Georgian opponent. "I almost played him at Wimbledon, I remember. So we'll see how that goes.

"More focused on my own game right now. My health is good now, so that's crucial, especially now that I play on Monday. Yeah, so I'll get some feedback from Ivan [Ljubicic] and Severin [Luthi], see what they can find out about him. But then I think important is going to be how I'm going to play."

Federer has been battling a cold for a week now, with the illness also affecting his Australian Open preparations, as the Swiss went down to Milos Raonic in Brisbane. The Swiss, though, is happy with his health at the moment and insisted he is primed for another assault on the Australian Open title.

"[I feel] better," Federer added. "Cough's gone. The cold's 90% gone. I'm happy. The last couple days I've been able to practice normally. Yeah, no, I'm relieved that since Thursday now I'm better.

"I would think the Australian Open is the one where players come in maybe most inspired. It's also been my most consistent slam maybe until last year. I always played very well here. I don't know if it's the conditions or the court speed. It's a good place for me to start the year.

"So we'll see how it goes. But offseason went well for me. Had no setbacks, which was crucial. I was able to work very hard, which was nice."

As reports of match-fixing swirl around tennis, what better way to bring the headlines back to where it belongs than with the man who has given so much joy to the sport with his on-court wizardry.