ONE of the world's most exciting
young players looms as the stumbling block to Roger Federer's quest to
end a grand slam drought dating back to the 2010 Australian Open.
The 16-time grand slam champion showed no signs of rustiness in his
convincing 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 6-3 dismissal of Ivo Karlovic despite having
entered the match with a four-day break following a second-round
walkover against Andreas Beck.
Federer faces the winner of last
night's clash between Australian rising star Bernard Tomic and
unorthodox Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov for a possible quarter-final
confrontation with 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro of
Argentina.
"Either player is going to be a challenge for me," he said.
"But overall I feel good, you know. It has been a good match for me and a good last week or so."
Federer and Nadal, who share the same side of a grand slam draw for
the first time since 2004, generated most interest yesterday.
Both
entered this Open under injury clouds - Federer withdrew from an event
in Doha with back spasms, while the Spaniard considered pulling out of
this event as recently as Sunday because of knee pain - yet they have
been convincing to date.
Federer's clash with Karlovic, who almost
a decade ago ended Lleyton Hewitt's defence of his Wimbledon title in
the opening round, was of most interest because of the danger Karlovic
occasionally poses with his brilliant serve.
Karlovic is a gambler
on court. Blessed with an amoury that allows him to hold serve at
almost every turn but bereft for the most part of skills to put pressure
on a rival's serve, his lot is to either blast away at a forehand or
chip and charge the net in hope when receiving.
In 26 prior sets
against Federer, Karlovic has managed to break just once. He is a long
shot to win a set against Federer in anything other than a tiebreaker.
At
five-all in the first set tiebreaker, he actually constructed a point
of class, stretching and testing the best in the business until Federer
overhit a forehand.
It brought him a set point on serve, usually a guarantee.
Instead
followed the most bizarre of points, with Federer chipping a slice at
the Croatian's feet and ripping a pass that, somehow, Karlovic got
racquet on.
Even more fortuitously, it dropped over the net for
what seemed almost a perfect drop volley. But Federer, somehow, got
racquet below ball and . . . lobbed. Lobbed the tallest man on tour
standing half a metre from him.
Talk about surprise and despair.
It was, as Karlovic noted later, the least predictable shot the 16-time
grand slam winner could throw at him at that moment, yet it proved the
critical difference.
"It is like one in, I don't know, hundred that I'm going to lose that point," he said.
"It was really unlucky. I didn't really expect him to do that, but I was there.
"I just, how do you say, miscalculated how much on the jump.
"If I would have won that, everything would have been different. But that is life. Tennis, that's how it is."
A ripped backhand pass on the next point and an ace to close the tiebreaker and the match, for all intents, was Federer's.
theaustralian.com
So it's the Australian Tomic vs. the Fed man next.
Should be interesting to see which one the crowd roots for more and how well the young Aussie handles the pressure.
Assuming he doesn't collapse from exhaustion half way through.
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