Switzerland's Roger Federer floored fellow former champion Marat Safin in straight sets to reach the Australian Open's last 16 on Friday.
Federer, seeking a record-equaling 14th Grand Slam, hit sparkling form as he overwhelmed his old rival 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) to stay on course for a semi-final match-up with Novak Djokovic.
The two ex-number ones have met twice before here, with Federer winning the 2004 final and Safin winning a classic semi a year later en-route to the title. But Federer won their previous three meetings, including last year's Wimbledon semi-final, and now holds a 10-2 record in a rivalry stretching back to 2001.
The Swiss had a close look at Safin's serve in the fifth game of the first set and pounced in the seventh, creaming a backhand down the line and snapping up the first break point on a double fault.
Federer whipped another backhand to break early in the second and went a double break up with a heavy forehand before sealing the set with a simple volley.
A furious Safin berated the line judge when he was foot-faulted in the third set tie-break and charged back from 4-1 down but Federer blazed an ace and service winner and took the first match point with another memorable backhand.
The second-seeded Swiss will play Tomas Berdych in the next round and is on track to meet defending champion Djokovic in the semi-finals.
World number one Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are in the other half of the draw with the 'Big Four' all in fine touch here so far.
Federer can match Pete Sampras's 14 Grand Slam titles record here after starting his first season without the top ranking since 2004. He has reached the semi-finals at the last five Australian Opens, winning the tournament in 2004, 2006 and 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment