After Novak Djokovic and Boris Becker had combined to create "Beckovic", "Fedberg" took their turn on Rod Laver Arena today and made a strikingly cool combination.
As Melbourne's temperatures climbed to a roasting 43 degrees, Roger Federer remained an almost sweat-free zone as he disposed of Australian wild card James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Federer's new coach, Stefan Edberg, made his debut by the side of the court, and kept an impeccable poker-face throughout, barely raising a laconic eyebrow as his new client pulled off familiar feats of tennis wizardry.
"I realise after a set I didn't look up once yet," said Federer after the match. "I thought 'I better check if he's actually sitting there.' Then I did see him. He was wearing sunglasses. I thought 'Okay, he is there.'"
Regular Federer watchers might wonder why he has not yet been signed up as a brand ambassador for Superdry, so rarely does he overheat.
Yet there were moments last season - his least successful for a decade - when the thermostat did go into overdrive.
In particular, we can point to his fourth-round defeat to Tommy Robredo at the US Open. Even though it was a night match, the humidity levels were off the scale, and a misfiring Federer was soon dripping with unaccustomed perspiration.
Here in Melbourne, walking outside feels like entering a sauna - and yet this is at least dry heat, which makes it less likely that tournament organisers will stop play on the outside courts.
"It's just a mental thing," said Federer, of the high temperatures. "If you've trained hard enough your entire life, and you believe you can come through it, there's no reason [to quit]. If you can't deal with it, you throw in the towel."
Duckworth put on a decent show for a supportive home crowd, who had come equipped with duck whistles and rehearsed chants such as "Who let the duck out? Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack."
He is not far from being an Australian Dan Evans - a talented shotmaker who likes to rush the net, but coughs up a few too many errors on regulation groundstrokes.
Duckworth's gameplan was simple enough: to hammer the Federer backhand and make him play passes off that wing as often as possible. Yet the four-time Australian Open champion refused to be bullied by a man ranked 133.
Federer has admitted that he became too impatient in 2013, too eager to finish points quickly, as a result of the back trouble that dogged him through the first half of the season.
Today his shot selection could not be faulted, as he worked his openings so clinically that he was often able to guide the simplest of winners into the open court.
Clearly there will be far tougher opposition to come, although Blaz Kavcic - the Slovakian world No 99 - would seem to be a reasonably inviting second-round opponent for Federer on Thursday.
Before then, there will be more time to bond with Edberg, who only arrived in Melbourne on Monday morning.
"We will probably go to dinner tonight and just see who else joins in," Federer said. "And then we will just watch some matches live, as well. Because he's seen a lot on TV, but live is a different animal.
"It's nice to have him in my corner and be able to just speak to him and be inspired by what he says about the game today, and about how it used to be for him, telling me stories. Just to spend time together for me is a big deal."
So will there be any change in Federer's stated policy of not looking up at his coaching team during matches? Apparently not. On-court coaching is one of his bugbears, and he once complained about Toni Nadal helping his nephew out during a final in Rome.
"I stopped doing that [looking up at his player's box] way back when," said Federer. "Because just I said you just can't be dependent on these looks all the time. Being coached from the sidelines, that's not how I grew up.
"I feel like it's like in school. You do your work at home, you get ready for the test, and then during the test, you don't cheat and you try to do your best score.
"I see it the same way in tennis. Though, clearly, when I did look up, it's nice seeing him sitting there. Even if he wouldn't be my coach it would be nice. Plus he's in my corner, it's great.
"I hope it's going to be a successful partnership as we move along."
telegraph.co.uk
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