Federer Advances to Face Baghdatis at Australian Open

"At least when you get broken in the first game you have a little bit of time to get back into the match, but I wasn't happy," Federer said. "That's clear. I was a little irritated after that and just worried because I had a feeling this could be a tough match, and I knew that from the start."

Baghdatis, who had to qualify into the Australian Open main draw, defeated the seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo to advance to the meeting with the world No. 1.

It was in the second round at last year's US Open that Baghdatis shocked Federer by taking the second set in an eventual 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1 win for the Swiss.

"For him to come back (in the second set), he had to come up with some really good shots," Federer said of Baghdatis after their first meeting. "He did at the right time. So he obviously surprised me on a few of them because they were really great shots."

Prior to the 2004 US Open, Baghdatis competed on the challenger circuit without much success, but found his confidence after the Federer match and went on to win two challengers before the end of the year.

At the Bratislava Challenger last November Baghdatis beat Marc Rosset and Karol Beck en route to the final before dispatching of Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty in straight sets.

The Cyprus native entered the Aussie Open at No. 155 on the ATP Rankings.