Roger Federer started the defence of his Australian Open title with a straightforward 6-3 6-4 6-3 triumph over Aljaz Bedene on Rod Laver Arena.

The second seed, who is eyeing a 20th grand slam title at Melbourne Park, made short work of Bedene in the pair's first meeting, although it was the world number two who tallied the higher number of unforced errors.

Bedene, competing once again under the Slovenian flag after reverting back from British citizenship, produced a credible display but could trouble his illustrious opponent in only the briefest spells.

And ultimately the underdog maintained his unwanted record of having never progressed past the first round at the year's first major, while Federer will now take on Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff. Federer held his opening three games to love, breaking along the way to assume a 4-1 lead as Bedene struggled to live with the remarkable array of shots coming back at him from the other side of the net.

It took Federer only 27 minutes to win the opening set and he was quickly a break up in the second, his tactic of rushing Bedene's serve proving fruitful. A rare glimpse at a break of his own at 2-1 down quickly disappeared for Bedene, with Federer sending a pinpoint forehand down the line to take it to deuce having fallen 40-15 down.

Bedene often found himself forced to beat a hasty retreat, dropping deep behind the baseline on Federer's serve, which allowed the classy veteran to dictate most rallies. 

With Federer firing off both wings and moving around the court with characteristic grace, there was precious little Bedene could do to stem the tide, even if he did manage to extend the second set to 40 minutes.

As in the opening two sets, an early break set the tone for the third, Federer flashing another forehand missile down the line to underpin his superiority. Federer sealed the victory when Bedene served to stay in the set, a backhand into the net ending a one-sided contest.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Federer [2] bt Bedene 6-3 6-4 6-3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Federer – 41/32
Bedene – 21/25

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Federer – 12/3
Bedene – 2/5

BREAK POINTS WON
Federer – 4/13
Bedene – 0/2

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Federer – 72
Bedene – 56

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Federer – 78/61
Bedene – 70/45

TOTAL POINTS
Federer – 96
Bedene – 75