Tomas Berdych has recorded a straight-sets victory over Michael Russell in his first-round match at the Australian Open.
The 27-year-old will now play France's Guillaume Rufin in the next round.
Berdych struggled with his first serve in the first set, landing just 39% in. It was of little consequence however, as he won 71% of points coming from his second serve.
Both men set up opportunities to break, but the Czech's superior quality shone through as he took two out of three to take the lead.
The second set was strewn with errors from both men, who looked sluggish in the Melbourne heat.
Russell went a break up early in the set, but Berdych managed to strike back to level the scores.
It took 54 minutes of gruelling play, but Berdych inched his way towards the second round after taking the set 7-5.
The world number six broke Russell at 4-3 in the third to serve for the match, but had to save two break points before sealing his place in the next round.
Michael Penkman
