Roger Federer vs Jurgen Melzer Wimbledon fourth round preview
It took three matches, but Roger Federer finally recorded his first straight sets victory at Wimbledon this year when he dispatched Arnaud Clement from the tournament on its fifth day.
But while the French veteran didn’t possess a weapon to trouble the defending champion, fourth round opponent Jurgen Melzer is a different story altogether.
The Austrian, fresh from reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros, earned this match against Federer with a four set win over 22nd seed Feliciano Lopez. And while it may have been a while coming, at 29 years of age Melzer finally seems to have harnessed his potential.
Before the French Open, he’d never progressed beyond the third round at a major, but has now done so at two successive Grand Slams.
“For me, it was never a question of talent. It was more in the head,” Melzer said after defeating Novak Djokovic to reach the semis in Paris. “I'm a good tennis player. It was just a few links here and there were missing... It had to click, and then I started to believe in myself. I started to actually believe I can win those big matches.”
They don’t get too much bigger than playing six-time Wimbledon champion Federer at the All England club, and he’ll need every drop of that newfound confidence if he’s to upstage the top seed in SW19.
Still, Melzer’s newfound confidence has, at least from his perspective, dovetailed nicely with the world No. 2 showing some rare vulnerability at the grass court major, where in the first round this year Alejandro Falla at one stage served for the match against him.
What makes this match still more interesting, is that despite less than three months separating the pair in age, their paths have never before crossed on court.
“I've practiced with him, you know, chat with him every day in the locker rooms. But it's one of the guys I never faced,” Federer said. “Kind of cool we finally get a chance to play each other, especially here at Wimbledon, which I think is one of his best surfaces on grass, and he's coming off of a great French Open.
“I'll definitely be in for a tough match. He's improved again. He's making a move, a push in his ranking. My job is to try to stop that a little bit.”
Not so long ago, few would have doubted Federer’s ability to do so, but in light of Melzer’s recent improvements and the world No. 2’s struggles so far this tournament that might prove to be easier said than done.
Federer, however, should be able to call on his champion pedigree to get him through this match, and he just might need to.
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