With No300, Federer has overtaken Chris Evert’s 299 and only one player, man or woman, remains ahead of him: Martina Navratilova won 306 Grand Slam matches, and while Federer can not reach that in Australia, one suspects, come the summer, he will add one more record to his resume, too.
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The four-times champion wobbled briefly in the inter-generational battle when the 24-year-old nicknamed “Baby Fed” pulled off his best impression of the Swiss master to capture the second set under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena.
He was defeated in the French Open final.
Daria Kasatkina, from Russian Federation, was demolished 6-1 6-1 in 45 minutes by the defending champion Serena Williams. Dimitrov showed a lot of grit, saving three break points throughout the set, never dropping serve to win it 6-3 and even up the match.
Last year Federer was ambushed in the third round by Italian Andreas Seppi, but he made no mistake this time at the same stage against Dimitrov. He could meet Djokovic in the semifinals.Djokovic took care of the man who ended Federers run in the third round here previous year, the Swiss stars worst run at the Australian Open since 2001.
But for a slump in the second set Federer was authoritative in accounting for the similarly elegant, but deferential, Gregor Dimitrov in four sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
She says, “I don’t do bananas anymore”.
Novak Djokovic’s tennis has been pretty other-wordly in the past 18 months, winning three grand slams in 2015 and sitting on top of the rankings with twice as many points as Andy Murray in the No 2 spot.
“Not something I ever aimed for or looked for, but when it happens, it’s very special”. “I didn’t expect it to be against Grigor”.
Garbine Muguruza, left, of Spain congratulates Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic following their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016.
For a player who failed to win a Grand Slam in 2015, and who some have tagged as being past his prime, it is a staggering achievement, and proves yet again his class and longevity.
Sharapova looked non-plussed by the news of her milestone after her see-sawing two-and-a-quarter-hours match: “Oh, wow, I’ve won 600 matches?” That’s why I think it’s always very interesting to follow a teenager growing up on the tennis tour.
The 34-year-old Federer improved to 5-0 against Dimitrov, a young Bulgarian with a similar style, including two wins in two weeks. Grigor gave Roger everything he could handle through the first 2 sets, but Roger cruised through the final two sets to advance to another round of 16.
Former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has advanced to the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a 6-4, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) win over fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Maria Sharapova was far from her best today.
Djokovic was not on Rod Laver Arena today, but he may not have minded playing on the recently-refurbished Margaret Court Arena, which is nearly as big and boisterous as RLA.
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Belinda Bencic (12), Switzerland, def. Kateryna Bondarenko, Ukraine, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
