A flawless performance against Safin suggests the Swiss is back to his best
A flawless performance against Safin suggests the Swiss is back to his bestTheir rivalry goes back to 2001 and with Roger Federer holding a 9-2 advantage. The former world number one was expected to go past another former world number one, Russian Marat Safin in the third round of the Australian Open yesterday.
But over the years, Safin has developed a knack of upsetting the apple cart when it seems most unlikely, like the time he beat Federer four years ago in the semi-final of the same Grand Slam en route to the title.
Great expectationsAdd to this Federer's blow hot, blow cold form, the match was expected to be nothing short of a cracker. Here were two former champions not playing at their best and yet players who have managed to bring the best out against each other.
"It's special to play Marat, we go way back. I think we like playing each other. It doesn't matter who wins, it is always a good contest," said Federer after his 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 demolition of the Russian.
For many, Federer was the favourite to win the match but the manner of his win was completely unexpected.
He was almost flawless and looked in a different league. And by the time Safin seemed to be getting his footing, the match was already over.
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"I thought Marat started to play really well towards the end so I'm happy I got through, because it seemed like deja vu," Federer said, recollecting the close to five hours 2005 semi-final where Safin came back from two sets to one down and win 9-7 in the last to end Federer's 26-match winning streak.
No wayBut Federer was not going to allow any of that happen yesterday.
The Swiss had a close look at Safin's serve in the fifth game of the first set and pounced in the seventh, creaming a backhand down the line and snapping up the first break point on a double fault.
Federer whipped another backhand to break early in the second and went a double break up with a heavy forehand before sealing the set with a simple volley.
Closing it outA furious Safin berated the line judge when he was foot-faulted in the third set tie-break and charged back from 4-1 down but Federer blazed an ace and service winner to take the first match point with another memorable backhand.
"It's always tough when you play Roger. You need to count every single point and any single chance to break him. Otherwise, there is just no chance. Of course, it's disappointing that I could not do it today," Safin said.
"You just have to keep your cool against him and wait for another chance. I had those chances but they were not enough. He played well and served really well," Safin added.
Undoubtedly, Federer was playing better than he has in the recent past and that could only serve as warning for others. Federer has a chance to match Pete Sampras' record 14 Grand Slams titles here and after yesterday, not many would bet against it.
The second-seeded Swiss will play Tomas Berdych in the next round and is on track to meet defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
World number one Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are in the other half of the draw with the 'Big Four' all in fine touch so far.
The title is still up for grabs but Federer has staked a bigger claim than others. Just ask Safin.
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OPEN AND SHUT: Marat Safin's straight set loss to Roger Federer was his last appearance at the Australian Open. When asked if he would return, the Russian simply said, "I doubt it. I really doubt it. I don't like this bye-bye part.
It's just a sad story. It's not for me. I prefer to leave this way, quietly, nice, with a great match. Unfortunately, I couldn't do better than three sets.
But anyway, I lost today probably to the better player, one of the greatest ones in the history of tennis.
I really hope for him to be so I can tell the story to my kids that I played with him. I think it's a nice story. |
