Tomas Berdych happy "to save some energy"

World number six Tomas Berdych has admitted that he was pleased with the way that he performed during his first outing at this year's Australian Open earlier today.

The 27-year-old took just over two hours to see off the challenge from Michael Russell 6-3 7-5 6-3.

Reflecting on his display, the Czech Republic number one revealed that he was happy to have overcome a "tough opponent".

"He's a really tough opponent, especially for the conditions today," said Berdych. "I was able to get [a] rhythm to play for the three sets. Not [staying] on court that long [was] also a positive, especially to be able to save some energy from the beginning."

Berdych will now take on France's Guillaume Rufin in round two.