Fed express storms into semis clash with Nadal
Azarenka loses in another upset during Australian Open quarters.
Federer rekindled his dominance over Murray in Grand Slam matches by securing victory on his third match point with an ace to set up a showdown with top-ranked Nadal. PHOTO: REUTERS
MELBOURNE:
A resurgent Roger Federer weathered a belated challenge from Andy Murray at the Australian Open on Wednesday to win 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 and set up a mouth-watering semi-final with great rival Rafael Nadal.
Stingy on serve and dominant at the net, the 17-times grand slam champion wobbled when serving out for the match at 5-4 in the third set and was dragged into a tiebreak in an atmosphere of unrelenting tension at Rod Laver Arena.
Battling fatigue, Murray saved two match-points to keep his bid for a third grand slam title alive but met ever stiffer resistance from the imperious Swiss, who attacked his serve with abandon in the final set.
Having saved a raft of break points, Murray crumbled at 4-3 to concede the decisive break and Federer made no mistake on his third match point, sealing the thriller with an ace after three hours and 20 minutes.
“Andy played well and put the pressure on me so I’m happy to get the win,” he said. “I probably miss more break points than other guys, but I keep my composure and keep the poker face and it worked.
“I have confidence in my movement and it’s a game of movement out there these days. I’m just happy to be playing back out here healthy,” said Federer, looking forward to his clash with top seed Nadal. “It’s going to be a good match, it’s going to be brutal and all those things.”
Meanwhile, Nadal warned he needed to quickly improve his misfiring serve – hampered by a large blister on his left hand – or face defeat in the semi-finals.
Nadal got home 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 against Grigor Dimitrov in the last-eight and will look to book a place in Sunday’s final.
But the world number one’s serve, compromised by an ugly-looking blister in the palm of his left hand, was vulnerable and he gave up seven double-faults, including two of them on break points.
“I felt that the biggest problem was the serve because, serving like this gives me a problem for everything else,” he said.
“So I’m going to try to improve that, because I’ll need it the day after tomorrow. If not, I’m not going to have the chance to be in the final.”
Radwanska shatters Azarenka jinx in quarters
Agnieszka Radwanska played the role of underdog to perfection as she finally broke her jinx against two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka and knocked her out of the Australian Open.
The determined Pole battled to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 win to send the Belarusian packing. The win also ensured the tournament will have a new champion with none of the semi-finalists – Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova, Li Na and Eugenie Bouchard – having won before.
“It’s hard to play someone I lost [to] so many times before,” said Radwanska. “I knew she’s a great player. Especially here, she was playing amazing tennis. I’m just very happy because I really was playing great tennis.”
On the other hand, Azarenka admitted she lacked focus after blowing a golden opportunity to win her third straight Australian Open.
“The first set and the third set, I think there was just too many mistakes and too many easy mistakes on important moments,” she said.
“I just didn’t have the focus on finishing the points and she really took advantage of that. It was hard to come back. My game wasn’t there today as I wanted it to be.
“You can look at it as a lost opportunity,” she added. “There’s nothing else I can do right now. I can think about how I lost today, how disappointed I am today, what it is.
“But what I have to think is what I have to do better next time.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2014.
A resurgent Roger Federer weathered a belated challenge from Andy Murray at the Australian Open on Wednesday to win 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 and set up a mouth-watering semi-final with great rival Rafael Nadal.
Stingy on serve and dominant at the net, the 17-times grand slam champion wobbled when serving out for the match at 5-4 in the third set and was dragged into a tiebreak in an atmosphere of unrelenting tension at Rod Laver Arena.
Battling fatigue, Murray saved two match-points to keep his bid for a third grand slam title alive but met ever stiffer resistance from the imperious Swiss, who attacked his serve with abandon in the final set.
Having saved a raft of break points, Murray crumbled at 4-3 to concede the decisive break and Federer made no mistake on his third match point, sealing the thriller with an ace after three hours and 20 minutes.
“Andy played well and put the pressure on me so I’m happy to get the win,” he said. “I probably miss more break points than other guys, but I keep my composure and keep the poker face and it worked.
“I have confidence in my movement and it’s a game of movement out there these days. I’m just happy to be playing back out here healthy,” said Federer, looking forward to his clash with top seed Nadal. “It’s going to be a good match, it’s going to be brutal and all those things.”
Meanwhile, Nadal warned he needed to quickly improve his misfiring serve – hampered by a large blister on his left hand – or face defeat in the semi-finals.
Nadal got home 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 against Grigor Dimitrov in the last-eight and will look to book a place in Sunday’s final.
But the world number one’s serve, compromised by an ugly-looking blister in the palm of his left hand, was vulnerable and he gave up seven double-faults, including two of them on break points.
“I felt that the biggest problem was the serve because, serving like this gives me a problem for everything else,” he said.
“So I’m going to try to improve that, because I’ll need it the day after tomorrow. If not, I’m not going to have the chance to be in the final.”
Radwanska shatters Azarenka jinx in quarters
Agnieszka Radwanska played the role of underdog to perfection as she finally broke her jinx against two-time defending champion Victoria Azarenka and knocked her out of the Australian Open.
The determined Pole battled to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 win to send the Belarusian packing. The win also ensured the tournament will have a new champion with none of the semi-finalists – Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova, Li Na and Eugenie Bouchard – having won before.
“It’s hard to play someone I lost [to] so many times before,” said Radwanska. “I knew she’s a great player. Especially here, she was playing amazing tennis. I’m just very happy because I really was playing great tennis.”
On the other hand, Azarenka admitted she lacked focus after blowing a golden opportunity to win her third straight Australian Open.
“The first set and the third set, I think there was just too many mistakes and too many easy mistakes on important moments,” she said.
“I just didn’t have the focus on finishing the points and she really took advantage of that. It was hard to come back. My game wasn’t there today as I wanted it to be.
“You can look at it as a lost opportunity,” she added. “There’s nothing else I can do right now. I can think about how I lost today, how disappointed I am today, what it is.
“But what I have to think is what I have to do better next time.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2014.