Federer hopes never to face Simon again

[DexteR]

Roger Federer hopes never to play Gilles Simon again after narrowly scraping past the Frenchman in the second round of the Australian Open.

Second seed Federer saw a two-set lead slip away to the resilient world No. 34, but eventually held on to win a five-set thriller 6-2 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3. It was Federer's first victory against Simon, having lost the two previous encounters between them.

"He's a great player," Federer said of Simon. "Matches against him don't come easy. It's my first win against him [in three attempts]; they always go the distance. Hopefully I don't play him anymore."

Federer will play the unseeded Belgian Xavier Malisse in the third round. Having survived a tough test of his credentials, the 16-time grand slam champion does not believe such a draining encounter will affect his chances in the rest of the tournament.

"Four or five sets, what's the difference really?" Federer said, half-jokingly. "Doesn't matter if you win in straight or in five. Just keep on moving on in the draw.

"I really enjoyed myself out here tonight. I wasn't playing poorly to lose the third and fourth set - Gilles really took it to me. Today I got lucky and I'm happy I'm still in the tournament."

[Sadaf Gondal]

hmm