He reached the milestone at Rod Laver Arena yesterday, when he moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
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epa05112394 Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after winning his second round match against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine at the Australian Open tennis tournament, in Melbourne, Australia, 20 January 2016. “Like when I reached 1000 previous year, it was a big deal for me”, Federer said of his milestone win.
“You know, I felt like I was hitting the ball well, doing the right things to get in that position, then letup. So it’s very nice, I’m very happy”. But the Bulgarian Dimitrov, who after three straight-sets losses took his first set off Federer in the Brisbane quarter-finals earlier this month, would get another to level the match at a set apiece, his aggressive play paying dividends against the 17-time Slam champ. He reached two major finals in 2015, losing them both to Novak Djokovic, who has replaced him as the most dominant man in the draw.
Kyrgios gave his home supporters some hope with a fightback in the third set when he twice broke Berdych’s serve, but the Czech regrouped in the fourth set to clinically finish off the Aussie. Victoria Azarenka and Garbine Muguruza will be featured in the first few matches during the day session on Rod Laver, while the night session will be highlighted by what promises to be a thrilling contest between Ana Ivanovic and Madison Keys. Williams had no such problems as she crushed overawed Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-1 in 44 minutes, the shortest match of the tournament so far.
Ekaterina Makarova (21), Russia, def. Karolina Pliskova (9), Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2.
With the landmark win, Federer also extends his record over Bulgarian 27th seed Dimitrov, dubbed “Baby Fed” because of the similarity in their playing styles, to 5-0. In the third there were no breaks, but Djokovic was just that wee bit better in the tie-break to win it and the match.
After making way for Williams on the main court, he noted it was his first match on Melbourne Park’s No 2 court since it was renovated to include a roof.
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic, a five-time Australian Open champion, beat No. 28-seeded Andreas Seppi, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6). He was also particularly wary of a third-rounder against Seppi, who beat four-time champion Federer at the same stage here past year.
Federer’s next aim is to break a Grand Slam title drought that dates to Wimbledon 2012. “I’m just glad I got through”.
There was a minor upset in the men’s bracket as No. 24 seed Roberto Bautista Agut made short work of No. 12 seed Marin Cilic, 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-5.
Federer plays Belgian David Goffin in the Fourth Round.
The final win over Mark Philippoussis was a long time coming for the then-21 year old, but Federer stressed the important of patience for young guns looking to take that step today.
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For now, he can sit back and enjoy No300, just as he did after match-win No1000 in Australia a year ago: “It’s very exciting, I must tell you”.
