Will Ferrell hijacks Federer's first-round victory

Roger Federer's first round Australian Open victory has been hijacked by American comedian Will Ferrell.

Federer continued the longest first-round winning streak in tennis on Tuesday night, easing past Slovenian Aljaz Bedene to make it 19 successive tournament-opening wins at the Australian Open.

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The world No.2 and title favourite went unbroken in his 6-3 6-4 6-3 win on Rod Laver Arena in just one hour and 39 minutes.

However the highlight of the match came after the final point.

Federer was being interviewed on court by John McEnroe when Ferrell made a surprise appearance.

The star of movies such as 'Anchorman' and 'Step Brothers' had the crowd cracking up as he asked the ageless Federer whether he was a witch or a vampire, and whether he eats wombat meat.

He also referred to McEnroe as John 'MacIntosh', called Federer a 'silky gazelle', before signing off with a signature Ron Burgundy quote: "You stay classy Melbourne."

However Federer got the biggest laugh from the crowd with his response to a question about whether he gets sick of hearing the Aussies scream his name.

"It helps me remember it," he said. "When you get old you start to forget things."

Ferrell is in Australia for his production company, who recently made a US version of Australian television series 'No Activity'.

Federer next faces German Jan-Lennard Struff in his quest to win his 20th major, and his sixth at Melbourne Park.

with agencies