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.