Federer pleased with play, but warns of potential 'hiccup' in future

Roger Federer says he surprised himself with his performance against Tomas Berdych on Friday, winning in straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open.

Federer, playing his first event since Wimbledon, improved his play significantly from the first two rounds, hitting 40 winners and just 17 errors against the No. 10-ranked Berdych.

"I didn't expect it as such, to be honest,” Federer said, “especially not this kind of a score line, especially not having to save no break points, just always rolling on the serve. That was a big surprise to me. From the baseline, honestly, I felt worlds better than in the first couple of rounds. Yeah, it's wonderful. I'm really happy.”

According to Federer, he had produced this kind of form in practice, but acknowledged that doing it in a competitive match against a difficult opponent is different.

"It's a good feeling that I was able to come through in such a solid match, just feel good on serve, on the baseline,” the 17-time Grand Slam champion said. “My movement was there. Everything clicked. So that was nice. I expected … was ready for a battle, five hours, something big. Had it all written over it.

"I was able to come through it in one hour [and] 20 [minutes], 1 hour [and] 30 [minutes], however long the match was. It's a great feeling."

The No. 17 seed took the lead early and never relinquished it, avoiding the up-and-down play he had shown during the first two rounds. That also took him by surprise.

"I was nervous," the Swiss said in regard to finishing it off in the third set. “…I still believed that there is going to be that hiccup. It has to happen. It didn't happen.”

The win will keep Federer in the Top 30 in the rankings.