Federer to meet Safin in tricky third round battle
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AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 22, 2009 00:00
MELBOURNE - Planning to win a record 14th Grand Slam, second-seed Roger Federer will take his first serious test against Marat Safin in the third round, after eliminating another Russian Evgeny Korolev in just 86 minutes. The Swiss superstar welcomes the chance to take on Safin again after their epic battle in 2005.
Roger Federer's quest for a record 14th major got more compelling yesterday when he set up a third-round match with Marat Safin at the Australian Open.
Second-ranked Federer was dominating in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 118 Evgeny Korolev, needing just 86 minutes to move one step closer to equaling Pete Sampras' record for Grand Slam singles titles.
With Swiss flags scattered around Rod Laver Arena, Federer gave notice he was on top of his game with back-to-back aces in the first game. Safin, who beat Federer in the semifinals here en route to winning the 2005 championship, beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
"I'm happy to be playing Marat, we have fought some battles," Federer said. "We had the epic in 2005."
The mercurial Russian, who will turn 29 next week, saved a match point and won 9-7 in the fifth set of his semifinal against Federer four years ago. He is one of only two men who've beaten Federer in the last five Australian Open tournaments.
Djokovic on course
The other, defending champion Novak Djokovic, remained on course for a semifinal rematch with Federer when he beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-1, 6-3.
Chardy matched the third-ranked Djokovic shot for shot before wilting while trying to force a tiebreaker in the first set.
Djokovic was dominating on his serve, faltering only when he was broken at love while serving for the match. But he broke right back, finishing it off when Chardy netted a forehand on match point.
"I'm playing better and better which is very encouraging fact for me," Djokovic said. "I really stepped it up." The 21-year-old Serb next faces Bosnian-born Amer Delic, of Jacksonville, Florida.
Delic, who got a spot in the draw as a lucky loser from qualifying when other players withdrew, rallied from two sets down to beat No. 28 Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 9-7.
Delic beat American Taylor Dent in the first round, but his supporters attracted criticism from Dent's father Phil, a former Australian Davis Cup player, who complained about unruly behavior from flag-waving Bosnian fans.
Emotion-charged environment
Delic anticipated an emotion-charged environment against Djokovic, saying he'd appeal for calm among his supporters, and expected his Serb opponent to do the same.
Djokovic was ready for a tough reception on court.
"I don't want underestimate anybody. Delic deserves to be in the third round," he said. "If he came there, of course, he has a lot of qualities. He's a big server. We played in Wimbledon in 2007 and we had a really close match, so I expect the same in this third round."
Two of Djokovic's fellow Serbs advanced as expected on the women's side. Fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic beat Italian Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-2 and top-ranked Jelena Jankovic advanced 6-4, 7-5 over Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Jankovic, the only member of the top Serbian trio yet to win a major, needed a medical timeout for treatment on her right foot in the first set and was broken three times in a tougher-than-expected, 1-hour, 46-minute match.
Ivanovic lost the last Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova, then won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open and gained the No. 1 ranking.
Now seeded fifth, she is drawing inspiration from her last run here. Sharapova is not defending the title because of a shoulder injury.
"I was in this situation before French Open last year, coming into the tournament as pretty serious finalist," she said. "That experience will help me a lot to approach this Australian Open."
Dictating play and ripping winners into the corners, Ivanovic repeatedly took advantage of Brianti's weak serve. The 28-year-old Italian held serve only three times.
"I improved a lot since last match. I was committing much more, coming to the net more often," she said, adding she still had plenty to improve. "When you come against top players or high-ranked players, you automatically raise your level and your consistency. That's something that I can do."
Second-ranked Federer was dominating in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 118 Evgeny Korolev, needing just 86 minutes to move one step closer to equaling Pete Sampras' record for Grand Slam singles titles.
With Swiss flags scattered around Rod Laver Arena, Federer gave notice he was on top of his game with back-to-back aces in the first game. Safin, who beat Federer in the semifinals here en route to winning the 2005 championship, beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.
"I'm happy to be playing Marat, we have fought some battles," Federer said. "We had the epic in 2005."
The mercurial Russian, who will turn 29 next week, saved a match point and won 9-7 in the fifth set of his semifinal against Federer four years ago. He is one of only two men who've beaten Federer in the last five Australian Open tournaments.
Djokovic on course
The other, defending champion Novak Djokovic, remained on course for a semifinal rematch with Federer when he beat Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-1, 6-3.
Chardy matched the third-ranked Djokovic shot for shot before wilting while trying to force a tiebreaker in the first set.
Djokovic was dominating on his serve, faltering only when he was broken at love while serving for the match. But he broke right back, finishing it off when Chardy netted a forehand on match point.
"I'm playing better and better which is very encouraging fact for me," Djokovic said. "I really stepped it up." The 21-year-old Serb next faces Bosnian-born Amer Delic, of Jacksonville, Florida.
Delic, who got a spot in the draw as a lucky loser from qualifying when other players withdrew, rallied from two sets down to beat No. 28 Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 9-7.
Delic beat American Taylor Dent in the first round, but his supporters attracted criticism from Dent's father Phil, a former Australian Davis Cup player, who complained about unruly behavior from flag-waving Bosnian fans.
Emotion-charged environment
Delic anticipated an emotion-charged environment against Djokovic, saying he'd appeal for calm among his supporters, and expected his Serb opponent to do the same.
Djokovic was ready for a tough reception on court.
"I don't want underestimate anybody. Delic deserves to be in the third round," he said. "If he came there, of course, he has a lot of qualities. He's a big server. We played in Wimbledon in 2007 and we had a really close match, so I expect the same in this third round."
Two of Djokovic's fellow Serbs advanced as expected on the women's side. Fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic beat Italian Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-2 and top-ranked Jelena Jankovic advanced 6-4, 7-5 over Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Jankovic, the only member of the top Serbian trio yet to win a major, needed a medical timeout for treatment on her right foot in the first set and was broken three times in a tougher-than-expected, 1-hour, 46-minute match.
Ivanovic lost the last Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova, then won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open and gained the No. 1 ranking.
Now seeded fifth, she is drawing inspiration from her last run here. Sharapova is not defending the title because of a shoulder injury.
"I was in this situation before French Open last year, coming into the tournament as pretty serious finalist," she said. "That experience will help me a lot to approach this Australian Open."
Dictating play and ripping winners into the corners, Ivanovic repeatedly took advantage of Brianti's weak serve. The 28-year-old Italian held serve only three times.
"I improved a lot since last match. I was committing much more, coming to the net more often," she said, adding she still had plenty to improve. "When you come against top players or high-ranked players, you automatically raise your level and your consistency. That's something that I can do."