Roger Federer avoided an embarrassing start to the new season when he dug himself out of trouble to beat little-known journeyman John Millman 4-6 6-4 6-3 at the Brisbane International yesterday.

What was expected to be a romp in the park for the Swiss maestro quickly turned into a old-fashioned scrap as he struggled to overcome a player ranked 153rd in the world who had only won three ATP matches in his career.

Federer committed 38 unforced errors to the disbelief of the crowd at the Pat Rafter Arena.

The world number two conceded the opening set when he sprayed a forehand volley over the baseline then fell 3-1 behind in the second when he dropped serve for the second time in the match.

But once Federer elevated his game, Millman was unable to stay with him as he won the next two sets to book his place in the last eight.

Qatar Open: Karlovic bt Djokovic 6-7 7-6 6-4.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.