MELBOURNE, January 22, 2017

Roger Federer set a quarterfinals clash with Mischa Zverev at the Australian Open. The 17 time Grand Slam champion battled past fifth seed Kei Nishikori on Sunday evening, winning 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

“At 4-0 [down in the first], I thought it wasn’t going to get any worse from there. He was clocking the ball. It was tough, and hard not to win that first set after all the effort, but it paid off in the end,” Federer was happy afterwards.

“I was telling myself, stay calm. I trained as hard as I possibly could in the off-season, I know everyone says that. This is a big win for my career.”

Asked about Murray’s loss earlier the day, Federer stated:

“When I am on tour, it’s tennis on TV non-stop so I don’t miss a beat. Like Novak against Istomin, I couldn’t have predicted [Murray’s loss]. It was a tough one for Andy but he will be back here many more years and I am sure he will win here.”

Kerber Crashes Out

In the final match on Rod Laver, defending champion Angelique Kerber fell to CoCo Vandeweghe, losing 2-6, 3-6.

“I think it’s my first win over a world No.1 I guess. I’ll take it. I faked it a lot, because I was feeling a bit crap out there. You have to fake it until you make it. I just had to pick my spots and trust my game,” Vanderweghe said.

“Last year I came here and didn’t win a match. Now here I am. It was just another opponent in the way of my goals for this year.”

Kerbaer was obviously disappointed.  “It was a tough match, and of course I’m disappointed. But I was not feeling the ball at all tonight. I was not playing good from the first point. So, yeah, it was not my day and not my match, for sure.”