Federer walks through to third round

Roger Federer has been given free passage to the third round of AO2012 after Andreas Beck pulled out of their Wednesday match. The German Beck was forced to withdraw due to a back injury, just hours before their scheduled clash at Hisense Arena.

The withdrawal means Federer advances to the third round where he will meet the winner of Wednesday's match between Ivo Karlovic and Carlos Berlocq.

Federer said the withdrawl came as a surprise. "I didn't know anything about it. It came as a surprise. He said he had a lot of painkillers and pain in the last match. I guess it's the smart decision for him to take."

"I would have loved to have played. I feel sad for the fans at Hisense who would have loved to come and see me play," Federer said.

The third seed said he hoped the walkover would not affect his preparations for the third round. "I'll just relax this afternoon and have an intense hit tomorrow," he said.

Date: 18.01.2012, Source: Australian Open