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.
Earlier, Andy Roddick was nearly perfect, while 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.
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.
Second-ranked Roger Federer aimed to take the first step toward tying Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam titles in a late match against Andreas Seppi of Italy.
Roddick was happy to be first up in Rod Laver Arena as temperatures rose steadily. He sped off in less than two hours, taking advantage of Rehnquist, whose style played right into the seventh-seeded American’s strengths.
“He’s probably not going to do much to kind of blow you off the court,” said Roddick, who lost only nine points in the first set. “But you got to go and execute. I was able to do that.”
But the 21-year-old Serb, now ranked fifth, was bothered by injuries in the middle of the season and her form at the majors waned, going out in the third round at Wimbledon and the second round at the U.S. Open.getCSS("3088867")
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