MELBOURNE, Australia — 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 today 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.

Meanwhile, Andy Roddick was nearly perfect and Serbia's big three were thrilled just to get through in straight sets.

Roddick, looking sharp and trim, committed just 10 unforced errors in a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 win over 31-year-old Swedish qualifier Bjorn Rehnquist.

Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, the women's runner-up here last year, had 10 mistakes just in the first five games but managed to advance with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over 107th-ranked Julia Goerges.

Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who had an illness hamper preparations for her pursuit of a first Grand Slam title, had 27 winners to just four for No. 104 Yvonne Meusburger while winning 6-1, 6-3.

The other Serbian star, defending men's champion Novak Djokovic, started strong then had to rally from service breaks in the last two sets — he was down 4-0 in the third — to oust Andrea Stoppini 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.