2011 Australian Open Quarterfinal Preview: Stanislas Wawrinka vs. Roger Federer
In an “All-Swiss” clash, four-time Australian Open Champion, Roger Federer meets compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka for the first quarterfinal match of the 2011 Grand Slam Down Under on Tuesday.
Second seeded Federer made it to his 27th Grand Slam quarterfinal on Sunday when he defeated Spaniard Tommy Robredo in a four set win. His quarterfinal berth at the 2011 Australian Open equalled Jimmy Connor’s record
of quarterfinal appearances at a Grand Slam.
Having enjoyed a successful final run at the 2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Federer makes his 12th straight appearance at the event having debuted in 2000. Federer has turned four of his five final runs into success stories,
failing only in 2009 when he lost to Rafael Nadal. He last appeared in the final at the event in 2010 when he defeated Brit Andy Murray to clinch the championship.
Coming to the event with hopes of a fifth title, Federer looks to break Andre Agassi’s record of most Australian Open titles in the Open Era. Having equalled Agassi’s record of four wins last year, a win in this event will take
him one over the American legend.
Federer started off by playing Lukas Lacko, last Monday in the event. Defeating the Slovak with a loss of only five games, Federer moved ahead to play Gilles Simon. What had seemed like a straight sets victory resulted in a five
set win for the Swiss marvel with the Frenchman putting up much resistance.
Coming into the third round, Federer was pitted against Xavier Malisse. Losing only seven games, Federer moved ahead to meet Robredo in the fourth round. Although the Swiss maestro was prone to many errors in his match against
Robredo, the winners he struck seemed to be much more long lasting. Federer was eventually able to do away with the Spaniard, registering 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for the match.
Meeting on the courts for the eighth time, Federer leads the career head-to-head 6-1. Having met three times last year, the pair’s last meeting on the courts came at the If Stockholm Open where Federer extended his lead over his
compatriot to three straight wins. However, the fact remains that Wawrinka has beaten Federer albeit once.
If he has done it once, there is nothing stopping him from doing it again especially since the number two Swiss tennis player has shown much promise lately. Starting the year at the Aircel Chennai Open, Wawrinka won the title after
defeating Malisse.
Participating at his sixth Australian Open, Wawrinka set a new career best when he made it all the way to the quarterfinals after impressive victories over names like Andy Roddick and Gael Monfils.
Wawrinka is the only other player besides Nadal and Murray to make it into the quarterfinals without dropping a single set. This truly speaks volumes about the rising Swiss tennis star.
Prediction: Although Federer, being the world number two, is truly the favourite to win the match, it would be extremely unwise to dismiss Wawrinka completely. Given the recent form, the number two Swiss might pull one over Federer.
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