Roger Federer faces his first serious test against in-form Gilles Simon in the Australian Open second round.
Simon comes into the match in fantastic form having just picked up a title in Sydney and moreover he's one of the few players in the game to have a winning head-to-head record against the Swiss.
Simon stunned Federer twice in 2008, first at the Toronto Masters and then at the end of year ATP World Finals. However back then the Frenchman was ranked six in the world and playing the tennis of his life. An effective counter-puncher, Simon was able to draw Federer into the long rallies and get him out of his comfort zone.
However Federer looked in phenomenal form on Monday, barely breaking sweat during a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Lukas Lacko. He's yet to drop a set so far in 2010 and he revealed he will be analysing his past matches against Simon with coach Paul Annacone to come up with a new game plan.
"I will look just a bit more into what has worked and what has not worked against him in the past," Federer said. “It's up to me to mentally try to forget those matches or remember the good things I did, because both matches we did play against each other were close. He's beaten the best in the world, really. If he can do it once, he always feels he can do it again, which he did against me. It's a tricky second round."
Federer will have to step up but although Simon may sneak a set, it has to be Federer in 3 or 4 sets.
