Roger Federer dispatches qualifier Noah Rubin in straight sets

ByGREG GARBER
January 18, 2017, 3:01 AM

— -- MELBOURNE, Australia -- Seventeen years ago to the day, an 18-year-old from Switzerland made his Australian Open debut. Roger Federer knocked Michael Chang, a former Grand Slam champion, off the court in straight sets.

On Wednesday, at age 35, Federer was the overwhelming favorite to defeat a 20-year-old qualifier from New York,? Noah Rubin, who is ranked No. 200 in the world. This time there was no upset -- Federer prevailed 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

"I wasn't feeling as good as in the beginning," Federer said in his on-court interview. "I definitely got lucky to win that third set. A lot of difficult moments out there, but it's what I need to progress in this tournament."

Continuing his comeback from a knee injury that forced him to miss six months, Federer looked solid in this battle of former Wimbledon champions; Federer is a seven-time champion, and Rubin was the 2014 Wimbledon junior champion.

"I have played out here many, many times. That's my advantage," Federer said. "He's been around a couple of years, plays well, great fighter, great legs. I think he had the upper hand from the baseline.

"I think my serve kept me in the match today."

After defeating a pair of qualifiers, the road becomes appreciably more treacherous for Federer, who will face No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych in Friday's third-round match.

"Berdych, yeah, it's not an easy draw," Federer said. "Now a top-10 player, he's beaten me in New York and at Wimbledon and the Olympics. He's a great player. I like Tomas' game -- that's a tough one."

Federer, now 26-1 against qualifiers in Grand Slams, hasn't lost to a player ranked this low since 2000, in Barcelona when he went down to No. 249 Sergi Bruguera, a two-time French Open champion.

Rubin, playing only his fifth Grand Slam match ever, acquitted himself well and received a warm round of applause from the appreciative crowd after the match. He qualified his way into the main draw, and then beat fellow American Bjorn Fratangelo in the first round. At 5-3 in the third set, Rubin actually held a pair of set points but eventually lost in a tiebreaker.

Rubin was one of seven U.S. men in the draw 20 years old or younger. His peers Ernesto Escobedo and Frances Tiafoe will play second-round matches Thursday.

Federer's Swiss counterpart? Stan Wawrinka, seeded fourth, is into the third round for the ninth consecutive year after a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over American Steve Johnson on Wednesday.

Wawrinka, 31, won his first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park in 2014 and has followed that up with two more majors -- the French Open in 2015 and the US Open last year.

He labored through five sets to win his first-round match against Martin Klizan in 3 hours, 24 minutes. He had a much easier time in the second round, beating Johnson in 1 hour, 52 minutes.

Wawrinka will next play the winner of the match between? Viktor Troicki?and? Paolo Lorenzi.

Kei Nishikori advanced to the third round in a far more straightforward manner than his five-set opener earlier this week.

The No. 5 seed, Nishikori defeated Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours to reach the third round for the seventh consecutive year.

"[I] was definitely playing much better than first round today,'' Nishikori said Wednesday. "There were many ups and downs, still too many break points for me. Great to finish in three sets.''

Nishikori has reached the quarterfinals three times at Melbourne Park, but has never advanced beyond that stage. He could play top-seeded Andy Murray in the quarterfinals this year.

No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.?