Andy Murray tops Roger Federer to secure a place in the title-round – Australian Open 2013
Olympic gold medallist, Andy Murray from Great Britain, rallied past the second seed, Roger Federer, in a five-set mouth-watering match at the Australian Open 2013 on Friday. He nudged up a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 victory against the 17-time Grand Slam champion to book a spot in the final showdown at this major hard court tournament taking place in Melbourne, Australia.
Seeded third in this first Grand Slam event, Murray displayed top notch skills to dismiss the Swiss Maestro in their 21st encounter. After stealing the show, the scot improved to 12-9 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series against the Swiss veteran.
The US Open champion was quoted in a courtside interview after bagging the match:
“It was a tough match. There was a lot of ups and downs. So it was good to come back after the way I lost the fourth set. I thought I did a good job tonight… I am just happy with the way I responded after [losing] both those sets."
Murray made quick in-roads at the Rod Laver Arena. He drew the first blood in third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. The Scot then held his remaining serves with poise and eventually bagged the opener with a 6-4 win.
The former world number one, Federer re-focused in the following set. He swiftly kept his entire serves and regardless of failing to convert any break chance, the Swiss clinched the set with a 7-6(5) score line.
The Dunblane native lifted his game again in the proceeding set. He held his entire serves with conviction and got the breakthrough in the sixth game, eventually sealing the set with a 6-3 success.
In the fourth set, the Swiss legend showed his class once again. He got the coveted break in the fourth game and jumped to a 4-1 lead. Federer lost his edge afterwards and exchanged a break but dominated in the tie-breaker, subsequently clicking the equaliser with a 7-6(2) win.
The 25-year-old re-gained his strength in the deciding set. He got the desiderated break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. The Scot cashed another break chance in the last game and sealed the decider by winning six games to two.
Next in queue for Murray is the world number one, Novak Djokovic from Serbia.
“I hope on Sunday I can play a good match," Murray reflected on his next match-up. "Obviously, having won against Novak before in a [Grand] Slam final will help mentally. [But] he's playing extremely well.”
The top seeded Serb eased past the world number five, David Ferrer, to set-up this epic final showdown.
Murray currently trails 7-10 in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series against the Serbian number one.
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