I would love to hear names, says Roger

While at pains to point out the need to ensure the sport is kept clear of corruption, the Swiss great, victor of a record 17 Grand Slam singles titles, said it was hard to comment on the connections of former major winners until names were named.

“Was it the player?” Who was it? Was it before?

The reports say the players – it doesn’t identify the players or say whether they were involved in singles or doubles – were allowed to continue competing.

Federer was unsure how prevalent the illegal activity was. In fact, for the Swiss Maestro the real opponent was his outfit (let’s be clear, Roger’s worn outfits best than this year’s), even as Nole acknowledged his teen opponent Hyeon Chung as a future tennis star.

“It’s important to keep the game clean. It’s vital, there’s no doubt about it”, he said.

Federer added: “Since we have the Integrity Unit, it puts more pressure on them that a story like this broke again”.

In Melbourne for the Australian Open, Federer was asked about the state of doping checks in tennis in the wake of the suspension of 34 past and present Essendon players for a supplements program from the 2011 and 2012 AFL seasons, as well as a global corruption scandal involving athletics’ governing body, the IAAF.

Federer was peppered with questions about the report on Monday night. Next up for Federer is Alexandr Dolgopolov, who beat Ricardas Berankis in four sets, 6-1 3-6 6-4 6-2 in his opener also on Monday.

Federer was broken in the opening set but otherwise cruised to victory in one hour and 12 minutes.

Spared the sweltering conditions of the day session, the men’s world No. 3 barely raised a sweat in hammering Basilashvili, sending 31 winners whistling past the 117th-ranked Georgian.

Federer, who is coming off from his finals appearance at the 2016 Brisbane International (lost to Milos Raonic, 6-4 6-4), is looking not to repeat his early and shocking eliminate in Melbourne a year ago.

“I don’t know exactly how much new things came out, to be quite honest”.

“It definitely gives me a bit of a lift and confidence”.

“I had some decent matches in Brisbane, but it was all under sort of a cloud knowing that I wasn’t 100 percent”.

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