Federer relishing Berdych reunion at Australian Open

Melbourne, January 22: Roger Federer is looking forward to facing a familiar opponent in Tomas Berdych after continuing his Australian Open title defence with another straight-sets win in the fourth round.

The Swiss second seed saw off Marton Fucsovics 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 on Monday to set up a quarter-final meeting with Berdych, who he has faced four times before in Melbourne - winning on each occasion.

And it is a contest that Federer is relishing as he waits on his first real test of the competition, having breezed through to this stage.

"We have had some good ones over the years going back all the way to the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004," Federer said of his previous battles with Berdych.

"I'm looking forward to playing against him. He seems to be in good shape and I'm happy he's over his back issues that he also had at the end of last year. That's a good thing."

While acknowledging that Berdych should represent a step up on his previous opponents in this year's draw, Federer is keen not to be distracted by analysis of the Czech.

"I did watch him a little bit against [Fabio] Fognini, I saw a little bit against [Juan Martin] del Potro," he said.

"I think, personally, it is important to see a little bit, just because he might be using different weapons this week. He might be taking the ball earlier or later or serving different patterns. So it's good to know.

"Of course, the coaches are going to get more in depth into Tomas' game.

"Me? I'm going to try to focus on my own game, understand and absorb the information that I get from my coaches."

Source: OPTA