Roger Federer battles into the finals at Brisbane

First time I've seen Roger sweat this much in his career

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Roger Federer survived a scare to reach the final of the Brisbane International with a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over Jeremy Chardy.


The top seed was pushed all the way by his French opponent but eventually pulled through to wrap up the win in an hour and 55 minutes.


He will face home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in the final after the Australian veteran defeated No 2 seed Kei Nishikori 5-7 6-4 6-3.


Federer, who at 32 is the same age as Hewitt, is looking forward to the clash against the former US Open and Wimbledon champion.


"We go back 17 years, our coaches back in the day were best friends. It's amazing we have a chance to play in Australia, our first time in a final here I think," Federer said.


"I struggled a lot against him in the early stages of my career."


Against Chardy, Federer had things much his own way in the opening set but his opponent hit back in the second, dominating the tie-break to take the match to a decider.


Chardy finally cracked when he served two double faults and made two forehand errors at 3-4 down in the final set, handing the decisive break of serve to the 17-time grand slam winner.


Earlier, Hewitt showed all his battling qualities as he fought back from a set down to see off his Japanese opponent in temperatures approaching 41 degrees Celsius.


"I don't know, I keep putting myself through it - must like punishment," Hewitt said of the conditions.


"It was tough conditions, really tough to play out there for both of us today. It turned into a mental battle."


skysports.com

Roger Federer Brisbane Quarter Final Press Conference

Roger Federer moves into the semis in Brisbane

Once again I am loving the shoes :)

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Roger Federer stormed into the semi-finals of the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp on Friday evening as he dismissed Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-1 in just 58 minutes. The Swiss served nine aces and broke serve five times in the pair’s first meeting.

"Tonight I felt very good against Matosevic who can play very dangerous," said Federer. "He's got a good enough serve and return as well. But I was able to control most of the match except the very beginning. For that, I'm very happy."

Federer, who is also through to the doubles semi-finals with Nicolas Mahut, is looking to win 78th tour-level title this week. The Basel native is making his debut in Brisbane and is in with a chance of winning both singles and doubles crowns the same week for the first time since 2005 Halle.

For a place in the final, Federer will challenge Jeremy Chardy, who ended the run of Australian wild card Samuel Groth with a 7-5, 6-4 win in 69 minutes. World No. 34 Chardy will face Federer for the first time as he looks to reach his first ATP World Tour final since 2009 in Stuttgart, where he won his lone title.

"He plays very aggressive on the hard courts," said Federer. "I remember seeing him play really well in Cincinnati, which is similar to here. I remember seeing him play well at the Aussie Open last year when he made the quarters, I think. So he can definitely bring a big game to the court, especially with his serve and forehand. He can really dictate play."

atpworldtour.com

Guess that larger racket is really working out!.

Roger Federer wins first match of the new year in Brisbane

Roger Federer began his 2014 ATP World Tour season with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fellow 32-year-old Jarkko Nieminen on Wednesday at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

Federer extended his perfect FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Nieminen to 14-0 with victory in 69 minutes. The pair first met at the 2002 Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Federer lost five service points in the second set. Nieminen could not convert three break point opportunities at 0-3, but avoided a bagel with a service hold in the fifth game. The World No. 39 dropped to 11-71 lifetime against players in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

"Most important is that you win the match so you get a second chance to judge your game a bit better," said Federer. "That's why it's most important to get an extra day or two. Now I have doubles tomorrow and the singles the next day, so it's really good for rhythm and good for your game.

"I expect myself to play a bit better in the next match, even though today was already very good for a first match in so many weeks, to be honest, and against Nieminen who can play very good tennis. Particularly here in Australia."

This is the first time that Federer has played an Australian tournament in the opening week of the season since 2000, when he reached Adelaide second round. The last time he contested an ATP World Tour event Down Under before the Australian Open was 2002 at Sydney, where he defeated Juan Ignacio Chela in the final.

When asked about why he is using a bigger headed racquet, Federer said, "I had a much longer time to get ready for this swing than I had last time around, after Wimbledon, before the American summer. So I'm not thinking about it when I'm going out there, which is a great thing. I'm hitting the ball really well, so I'm very pleased with the racquet."

Top seed Federer will next play Marinko Matosevic in the quarter-finals. Matosevic beat Sam Querrey 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 earlier in the day.

When asked what has been his biggest change in recent months, Matosevic paid tribute to his coach and doubles great. "Mark Woodfordehas been probably the biggest reason," he said. "He's great in all areas. With his Hall of Fame career, he can help me in every aspect of tennis. We've worked really hard since Wimbledon."

atpwporldtour.com

Roger Federer meets a Koala

Cuteness overload ♥♥.

Roger Federer going back to the bigger racket (again) in Australia

On the same day he announced he’d be taking it old school by hiring Stefan Edberg to join his coaching team, Roger Federer revealed he’ll also be starting 2014 with a bit of the new.


As noted by Christopher Clarey of The New York Times, Federer recently confirmed he’ll play with a larger, 98-inch racket head in Australia.


The 17-time Grand Slam champion used a 90-inch racket to win each of his majors. Last summer, he briefly dabbled with a 98-inch model before going back to his regular racket prior to the North American hard court season.


He explained his decision to the Swiss-German daily Basler Zeitung. (Note: The quotes have been translated.)


I’m going to play in Australia with a similar model as in my first attempt. Actually, I wanted to switch back after the U.S. Open again, but then I had so much to do with myself and my game, that I kept it on hold. Now, I had more time to make more small changes and together with my supplier company Wilson worked on the fine details of the racket.


[...] But now I have the feeling that this is the right time for a change in the racket. I’ve played through two and a half weeks with the new model and am confident. The racket is very good in the hand. But the truth will come out on the court. We’ll see how it affects me in the tournaments in Australia.

Larger rackets tend to produce more power and are more forgiving on mishits. The disadvantage is that players say they lose control when the size of the head increases.


Pete Sampras famously stuck with his 85-inch Wilson Pro Staff throughout his career. Upon his retirement, he started using the larger racket during exhibitions and has said he wishes he could have made the change during his prime.


ftw.usatoday.com

Roger Federer ready for Brisbane

 He looks so fresh & rested despite a long trip to Australia :)

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