Roger Federer, Miami Open
Mar 30, 2017; Miami, FL, USA; Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a volley against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic (not pictured) in a men's singles quarter-final during the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center. Federer won 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6). USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke

World No. 2 Roger Federer will face Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round of the 2018 Australian Open on Thursday. Federer, the defending champion, is the overwhelming favourite to repeat as winner at Melbourne Park and add Grand Slam title No. 20 to his illustrious career.

On Tuesday, Federer beat Slovenian Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 128 and looked primed for a deep run in the first Grand Slam of 2018. However, Federer tempered expectations before the tournament when he spoke about taking a round-by-round approach instead of aiming for the prize.

Federer had said: "I’m not at 100 per cent, but you never know in a week’s time what’s going to be happening. If you’re in the draw, you give yourself a chance. That’s what happened for me last year. All ended up way better than I thought it would, as you know."

As it turns out, Federer's path to the quarter-finals would be easier than projected. He will not face a seeded player until the Round of 8 following the early exits of Sam Querrey and Milos Raonic. After former World No. 3 Raonic fell to Slovakia's Lukas Lacko in the first round, Querrey lost to Hungary's Marton Fusovics in the Round of 128.

After breezing past Bedene, Federer said he would prefer playing Struff in the evening since the temperature in Melbourne is expected to go north of 40 degrees Celsius. “I’ll ask for a night match just because I played night tonight. It’s just easier, to be honest, rather than going from night to day to night to day to night to day. I am hoping for another good year,” Federer, who also won Wimbledon for a record eighth time in 2017, said on court. I am not sure it will go as well (as 2017) because I‘m a year older, Rafa’s looking in tip-top shape and others guys are coming back.”

Meanwhile, Struff is trying to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old German defeated South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo in the first round to set up a clash against Federer. 2018 Australian Open live streaming, Roger Federer vs Jan-Lennard Struff live streaming, Roger Federer live streaming and tennis live streaming info follows.

Roger Federer vs Jan-Lennard Struff live stream: Watch Tennis online
Second Round
Start time: 8:15 p.m. Thursday (Local Time, AEDT), 4:15 a.m. (ET), 9:15 a.m. (GMT)
On TV: Channel 7 (Australia), ESPN 2 (USA), Eurosport, BBC (UK)
2018 Australian Open live stream:
7Pus (Australia), WatchESPN (USA), Watch Eurosport (UK)

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