adminWhat began as an outdoor match and ended indoors concluded in Roger Federer scoring a phenomenal 300th Grand Slam win on yesterday morning at the Australian Open.
At 34, the great Swiss shows little sign of slowing up and, whatever the conditions, he ultimately dealt comfortably with Bulgarian nearly man Grigor Dimitrov to get through 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4 in two hours 40 minutes.
In the post-1968 “Open” era Federer is 67 Major victories ahead of Jimmy Connors who is, of course, no longer a pursuer. He now faces No 15 seed David Goffin of Belgium.
Dimitrov is closely intertwined with Federer as he has the same management, many of the same sponsors and often attracts comparisons in terms of playing style. Yet he is still struggling to make the advances that have long been predicted for him.
He plays with a wonderful fluency but struggles to back it up with consistency and strategic nous, and this match was typical of him flowering for a period but not being able to inflict serious damage.
“Yeah, it’s a little odd from time to time because I feel like he picks up the ball on the backhand and forehand side similar to me,’ said Federer of his opponent.
“I really enjoy Grigor’s game, he’s got a great attitude, he’s a good guy. It’s nice playing him, I had a pleasure out here today.”
With Federer dressed in kit reminiscent of Sporting Lisbon, the players walked out under grey skies onto Rod Laver Arena with the roof open in what always looked an act of optimism.
After one game there was enough drizzle in the air to cause it to be closed, and following the fourteen-minute delay it remained that way.
The Swiss, almost 10 years Dimitrov’s senior, only had cause for concern when the Bulgarian world No 28 upped his level in the second set to even up the contest.
He could not keep it up, and the next one got away for the loss of one game. However, easy on the eye, Dimitrov could not make a fight of it after going an early break down in the fourth set.
Federer’s 300 landmark comes up 16 years after winning his first match at one of the sport’s big four tournaments, that coming at the 2000 Australian Open. — SportsMail.
Online Reporter