Oz Open: Federer is still blowing hot and cold
January 24th, 2011 - 2:47 pm ICT by ANI
Melbourne, Jan.24 (ANI): Swiss tennis great and 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer is blowing both hot and cold on the tennis circuit in the last year-and-a-half. When he’s hot in terms of form, he can’t be touched, but when he overreaches himself, and if his opponent is good enough, he can be challenged.
After hiring Paul Annacone as coach in August last year, Federer knows an attacking mindset represents his best hope of besting Rafael Nadal and the remaining top six seeds in this year’s Australian Open.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, despite the well-founded assumptions of their superiority, Federer and Nadal will have to play awfully well to make their eighth grand slam denouement, given that seeds three to six - Novak Djokovic, Robin Soderling, Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych - are still there, and haven’t been strained yet.
Nadal, too, is tired and sweating excessively, a state he attributes to the lingering effects of a virus.
Djokovic, whose straight sets dispatch of Nicolas Almagro yesterday continued his faultless form, fancies himself against Federer, having taken the great one here in 2008 and beaten him in the US Open semis last year.
Federer is drawn to play Djokovic in a potential semi-final, the Serbian first having to get past a white-hot Berdych, the laconic Czech who gave Fernando Verdasco a hiding yesterday. It was a dismal day for the Armada - Almagro, Robredo and Verdasco all sank. Only Nadal and David Ferrer remain for Spain.
Djokovic said Nadal and Federer were ‘deservedly’ favourites, but that there were more contenders capable of winning major events. (ANI)
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- US Open: Djokovic, Federer, Williams advance as retirements continue - Sep 04, 2011
- Nadal claims second Wimbledon title - Jul 04, 2010
- Tipsarevic stuns Djokovic in Madrid Open - May 12, 2012
- US Open: Somdev takes on Murray, Sania plays Peer - Aug 26, 2011
- Nadal stretches ATP lead with US Open title - Sep 14, 2010
- Federer, Nadal in Australian Open quarters (Roundup) - Jan 22, 2012
- Federer loses to Berdych, seventh Wimbledon title hopes evaporate (Lead) - Jun 30, 2010
- Nadal storms past Berdych for second Wimbledon title (Lead) - Jul 04, 2010
- Djokovic beats Federer at Indian Wells to take world no.2 ranking - Mar 20, 2011
- After Nadal loss, Fedex says he has many more years left in tennis - Apr 03, 2011
- Nadal leads in unchanged ATP top 10 - Jul 12, 2010
- Berdych beats Djokovic, reaches Wimbledon final - Jul 02, 2010
- Berdych seals semis berth in World Tour Finals - Nov 26, 2011
- Federer turns 29, motivated for 2010 second-half turnaround - Aug 09, 2010
Tags: andy murray, australian open, contenders, david ferrer, denouement, dismal day, fernando verdasco, grand slam champion, nicolas almagro, novak djokovic, paul annacone, rafael nadal, robin soderling, robredo, roger federer, straight sets, swiss tennis, sydney morning herald, tennis circuit, tomas berdych