Roger Federer cruises into the last-four of Australian Open
Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the semi-final of the Australian Open after he defeated Stanislas Wawrinka in an all-Swiss encounter. The world number two defeated Wawrinka in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Federer got off to a great start in the match as he broke Wawrinka in his first service game, and continued to dominate in the opening set to take it easily by 6-1 in just 29 minutes.
The second set saw Federer further stamp his authority on the game, as the former world number one took the last four games of the set, winning it by 6-3.
The pressure was too much for Wawrinka to handle in the final set and Federer broke him once to take the final set 6-3. The world number two didn’t allow Wawrinka to bounce back in the match and kept the winning momentum with him.
After the match, Federer stated, “I think it was a good match for me really, I started off well. Was able to serve and return really well… I expected him during today's match to even serve bigger because the ball travels faster through the air. For some
reason I was able to return him well.”
Wawrinka was only featuring in the second quarter-final match of his career after he first featured in the quarter-final of the U.S. Open. Federer stated that the pressure was too much for Wawrinka.
He further added that he had the advantage and experience of 27 Grand Slam quarter-final appearances, which helped him gain confidence ahead of the match, and it showed in the match.
Federer said, “The scoreline suggests maybe it was easier than it looked like. I thought it was a pretty tough match. He really got into the match, especially in the second set, but I was able to mix it up well and just keep him on his toes.”
The Swiss players teamed up in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won the gold medal for their country. Both had a terrific start to the 2011 season and were unbeaten before the encounter. Federer was victorious in the Doha Open whereas Wawrinka won the Chennai
Open in India.
The Swiss number one will now be looking forward to reach the 23rd major final of his career. He has won 15 straight matches and will be looking forward to add to that tally of consecutive wins.
Federer will face the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych in the semi-final. The Swiss has now improved his record in Melbourne to 59-7 and will be eying his fifth Australian Open title to become only the second player in history
to win the title five times.
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