MELBOURNE, Australia(AP) Second-seeded Roger Federer started his campaign to equal Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slam titles with a 6-1, 7-6 (4), 7-5 win Monday over Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open.
Federer has three Australian titles among his 13 majors and lost in the semifinals here last year to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
The 27-year-old Swiss star sealed the first-round win on his fifth match point when the 35th-ranked Seppi of Italy pushed a forehand long.