Brisbane, Jan.9: Top-seeded Roger Federer displayed a dominant performance as he swept aside Dominic Thiem in straight sets to storm into the finals of Brisbane International at Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday.
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Reflecting on his performance, Federer said that it was his best match of the tournament so far, the Guardian reported.
Bernard Tomic ended Kei Nishikori’s streak of semifinal appearances at the Brisbane International with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win over the second-seeded Japanese player in the quarterfinals on Friday.
With such a huge serve Raonic was always favoured in the tie-breaks and he opened a 5-1 lead on both occasions. “I have a base there”, Federer said, “so I think within three, four days I should be back at 100 percent”.
Federer lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the 2014 title-decider and beat Canadian Milos Raonic to win the title previous year.
Milos Raonic became the first man to secure a semifinal spot at the Brisbane International with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lucas Pouille.
Raonic, a close friend of Tomic’s, can sense a change in the 23-year-old, who went from No. 56 to a career-high world No. 18 ranking last year. After losing coach Ivan Ljubicic to the Federer camp leading into 2016, Raonic achieved something nobody else born in the 1990s has managed to do against the 17-time major victor – beat him twice. “Thankfully I didn’t carry anything over from the first match”.
Federer managed just one break point as Raonic served four double faults in the fourth game after having a medical time out for a right leg injury.
After an exchange of breaks early in the third set, Tomic clinched it on his first match point, avenging a loss to Nishikori here a year ago. “Now I’m at the level [over the] past few months being in the top 20 and playing these players that have been consistently in the top 10, top 5 in the world”.
In the end Raonic and the illness were too much for the 34-year-old, who fell in the final 6-4, 6-4 to the big-serving Canadian. “I’m very excited to be back in the final again”.
Federer fell to 88-48 in tour finals after reaching a third consecutive Brisbane final, while Raonic improved to 8-8.
Azarenka, a former world number one, has been plagued by injury over the last two years, but the Belarusian showed little sign of rust this week on her way to a second Brisbane crown.
“(There are) sort of two steps”, he said, “being able to step up and play great for two weeks, which I believe I can definitely do.
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It is Raonic’s eighth ATP title and one of his most important as he seeks to make good on Federer’s recent prediction that he can become a top-five player this year and establish himself as a force to be reckoned with.
