Australian Open 2018: Roger Federer defeats Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-4 6-3

ALJAZ Bedene is ranked 51st in the world but at times on Tuesday night he was made to look 151st. Such is life when the enduring class of Roger Federer is on the other side of the net.

FIFTY-nine seconds. Twenty-six minutes. 1hr 39mins

That’s how long it took Roger Federer to win the first game of the match, the first set of the match and his first-round match in total on Rod Laver Arena.

Like the time pieces made in his native Switzerland, Federer was running like clockwork. The shoes were pretty in pink and the groundstrokes were a thing of beauty also.

The unlucky first-round victim — there has to be one — was Aljaz Bedene.

Federer made light work of his opening match.

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The 51st-ranked Slovenian was at times made to look 151st. But such is life when the enduring class of Federer is on the other side of the net.

At 36, this is an ever-hungry professional hunting a 20th grand slam singles title and an extraordinary 96th career title.

Bedene is yet to win a match at Melbourne Park in six attempts and despite moments of pluck in the second and third sets, this was never going to be the night he broke through.

Instead, it was Federer who was doing the breaking. He did it early in each set, laying the groundwork for a comfortable 6-3 6-4 6-3 triumph.

Not even a crying baby could disrupt the maestro from his mesmeric rhythm, while his handling of a post-match interview by Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy — “Do you only eat wombat meat?”, “Are you a witch or a vampire?” - only made him more likeable, if that was possible.

Federer with Will Ferrell and John McEnroe.

Federer this week said a man his age should never be favourite for a tournament, but on his 101st appearance at the Australian Open, this was classic Roger.

“My dream was always to play for a long time. I didn’t expect to play this well and come back as the defending champion this year but I’ll take it,” Federer said.

“I’m loving it and hopefully I can play for a little longer.

“I’m hoping for it to go well again, I’m just not sure it can go that well; last year was just so good.

“I’m worried it kind of won’t be (as good as last year) because I’m a year older, guys are coming back again ... I can’t control it all and last year was a fairytale.”

There wasn’t much Aljaz Bedene could do about it. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

Fittingly for a man last year awarded an honorary doctorate of medicine from the University of Basel, Federer was surgical against Bedene.

He stalked Bedene like an ever-curious kid on the beach following a sand crab. He probed relentlessly, with any sliver of vulnerability in any rally pounced on.

Short ball — whack. Weak second serve — smack. Defensive lob — smash.

He uses the whole court. Back, forward, left, right. The baseline, volleys, overhead smashes, leaps for high balls, swiftly bending down for low balls.

It was oh-so smooth. Indeed, while one-sided, there’s something magical about watching Federer go to work and there were “oohs” and “aahhs” from a crowd appreciative of what they were watching.

Bedene wasn’t disgraced, just outplayed. He dug in during the middle period of the second set and again early in the third. There were moments, but they came sporadically against a fierce tide.

Federer will face German Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round, with the Swiss winning their one and only meeting in 2016.