- Views 0
- Likes 0
ROGER THAT! It will be yet another epic meeting, Roger vs. Rafa XXXIII (roman numerals in honor of upcoming Super Bowl in the US) in the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open. Rafa took out the young upstart G. Dimitrov, but not without some difficulty, advancing in four sets, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-2. Dimitrov seemed to run out of steam in the fourth set. Following that match, Mr. Federer took the court at Rod Laver Arena to face Andy Murray. Fed came out very aggressive and won the first two sets in just over an hour, 6-3, 6-4. Then in the third set, Andy lifted his game and Roger was broken when he was serving for the match at 5-4. In the tie break, again, Fed failed to convert when he led 6-4 and could have closed it out in a tie break at 7-4 in the breaker. So third set to Murray (7-6) and they played on. In the tight fourth set, Murray continued to fight but Federer had the answers and at 4 all, Roger broke Andy and then served it out, the winning match point appropriately an ace! So happy to see Roger playing with confidence and moving well and seemingly very comfortable with the new, larger magic wand. He has been hugely successful coming into the net, winning a huge percentage of those points and has also served well, over 60% on first serves in last night’s match and defending his second serve quite well (very important statistic in tennis!). Now, the matchup worthy of a final, but it will be the semifinal on Friday (3:30 am Saturday in the US) between Fed and Nadal.
The other men’s semifinal will featured the other Swiss guy Stan Wawrinka, fresh off his huge win over Djokovic against Berdych (winner over Ferrer). Great to see both Roger and Stan in the semifinals (brings a smile to Severin Luthi’s face for sure). Not sure I want to make a pick on these matches…Nadal will be favored for sure but the way Roger is playing makes him dangerous and capable! As far as Berdych vs. Wawrinka, likely Berdych would be the favorite but I will be pulling for Stan!
On the women’s side, another upset of sorts. Victoria Azarenka, who became the clear favorite with the dismissal of both Williams and Sharapova earlier in the tournament was masterfully defeated by A. Radwanska, 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 (that is a bagel…time for lunch people!). Really shocking to see Vika struggle as much as she did last night, but she had to be feeling enormous pressure after becoming the heavy favorite to repeat down under. Azarenka had over 42 unforced errors early in the third set! Radwanska had every shot in the book working for her in this match. This now means Li Na will play the young nineteen year old from Canada, Bouchard and A. Radwanska will face Cibulkova in the other semifinal. Cibulkova advanced in two easy sets over Halep. So, Li Na would be favored in one but watch out for “Genie”, and Radwanska could be poised to finally win her first major. I want to say Li Na vs. A. Radwanska in the final but this tournament has been so crazy with upsets, it is way too difficult to call it!
Once again, I am just happy to see Roger back in top form! GO FED!
P.S. Tiger Woods is taking to the golf course tomorrow in California (where else could you play golf in the US in January) for the Farmers Insurance Open. Coverage begins late tomorrow afternoon live from Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, CA on Golf Channel.
