Tennis

Federer through to fourth round at Australian Open

Published Jan. 21, 2011 6:20 a.m. ET

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Roger Federer was back to his vintage best, beating Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in a third-round match Friday at the Australian Open.

While the defending champion also won in straight sets in his opening-round match against Lukas Lacko, he was extended to five tough sets against Gilles Simon in the second round, a near five-hour match which Federer said he was he relieved to survive.

On Friday at Rod Laver Arena, there were no such dramas for the second-seeded Swiss star who chasing his fifth Australian title. It took him 1-hour, 45 minutes to beat Malisse and earned an Open Era record 57th career match win at the Australian Open.

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