MELBOURNE, January 24, 2017
Roger Federer ended the successful run of Mischa Zverev in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Tuesday evening. The 17th seed from Switzerland defeated the last German standing in Melbourne 6-1, 7-5, 6-2. Federer didn’t have any problems and closed the encounter after only one hour and 32 minutes.
“I think he did not really let me play,” Zverev had to admit. “It’s more like his shot’s a little bit different than Andy’s. It was definitely hard to read where he’s going, where he’s returning. He just has so many more options, how he can, like, outplay me or pass me. It was different, definitely different.”
Federer sent down nine aces and fired 65 winners.
“I’m pleased with the way I started the match,” the Swiss Maestro was happy. “Right away again got off to a great start against him, like I did against him a few years ago. After that, naturally everything’s easier. Second set was definitely a key to shut it down for him. It was good that I was able to break back after he played a good game there. Yeah, then in the third set I think I was rolling. It was a nice match. I think I played great. Mischa had a wonderful tournament, so well done to him.”
Federer will next face Stan Wawrinka. The 31-year-old Swiss advanced to the semis with a comfortable 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Wawrinka hit 41 winners and capitalized on all of his three break points to prevail in two hours and 14 minutes.
Venus Williams Rolling Back The Years
The first women’s semi-final is set. With one hour and 23 minutes on the clock, CoCo Vandeweghe closed out another big win in her career, downing seventh seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain in ruthless fashion. The US-American played with nerves of steel, hitting 31 winners – 17 more than her opponent – to reach the stage of the final four at a Grand Slam for the first time.
“I really wasn’t feeling great out there. I was nervous… I was second guessing myself. Once I got rolling in the second set it was like a freight train, you couldn’t stop it,” said Vanderweghe, who will next take on Venus Williams.
Williams has returned to the Australian Open semi-final after a 14-year absence. The 36-yaer-old US-American defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6.
“Absolutely. To me, the semifinals is a steppingstone, just like the other rounds. It’s an opportunity to advance. The tournament is by no means over. It’s definitely down to the business end,” Venus told and added: “I feel like I’m playing the kind of tennis I want to produce the results that I want.”
Vanderweghe is also looking forward to the match. “The last and first time I ever played Venus was on clay. It’s an honour to play a great champion like Venus who I grew up watching,” she stated.
Day 9 Highlights
- The ageless Venus Williams reaches her first Australian Open semi-final since 2003 with a hard-earned 6-4 7-6(3) win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- CoCo Vandeweghe stuns Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza to advance to her first major semi-final
- Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka set up blockbuster semi-final with efficient wins over Mischa Zverev and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga respectively
Day/Night attendance: 39,982
