Federer Wins Dimitrov Clash to Advance in Melbourne
Four-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer made his way into the fourth round in Melbourne, moving past Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena on Friday, capturing the 300th win in his career at the four Grand Slams.
“I’m pleased. It wasn’t easy,” said Federer. “I didn’t expect it to be against Grigor. It was a tough round, so I’m happy.”
And it wasn’t easy. After Federer hit 15 winners and secured the only break to win the opening set, Dimitrov got his feet under him and began moving around the court extremely well in the second set.
The 27th seed broke at love for a 3-1 lead, and worked hard to consolidate that break with a hold, opening up a 4-1 second set advantage. Dimitrov showed a lot of grit, saving three break points throughout the set, never dropping serve to win it 6-3 and even up the match.
But any momentum Dimitrov had working; Federer quickly put a blanket on the fire. He broke in the second game and the sixth game and saved both break points to win the set easily 6-1. And in the fourth set, Federer secured the set’s only break and held his nerve on serve yet again, closing out Dimitrov in four sets.
The win gives Federer 300 for his career at the four majors, becoming the first man to reach that milestone, and moving him within six of Martina Navratilova’s all-time record.
“It’s very exciting, I must tell you,” Federer said of reaching the mark. “Like when I reached 1,000 [tour-level wins] last year, it was a big deal for me. Not something I ever aimed or looked for, but when it happens, it’s very special.”
The third-seeded Swiss will look to make it 301 victories in the fourth round when he takes on 15th seed Belgian David Goffin, who edged 19th seed Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 in his third round match on Friday.
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic made his way into the fourth round, upending Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(6).
“I think I served my way out of trouble several times. But certainly I must be pleased with a straight-sets win because both sets, especially the third, could have gone a different way,” said Djokovic. “I played a quality player who took out Federer last year here and who has been on the tour for many years. He is not afraid to play big tennis on a big stage. He likes it, I think. It was a great test. It was a physical match, a lot of exchanges from the baseline. I’m just glad to get through.”
Up next for Djokovic is 14th seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon, who knocked off Argentina’s Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
In a highly-anticipated matchup between two huge hitters, it was sixth-seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic who tamed 29th seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios for a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory.
“He’s very dangerous for the top guys. He can play really big tennis. He can be very dangerous,” Berdych said of Kyrgios. “You really have to play a good game, have a good effort. That’s what I did today.”
Berdych will square off against 24th seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut for a spot in the quarterfinals. Bautista-Agut knocked off 12th seeded Croat Marin Cilic in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-5.
The other fourth round matchup setup on Friday will see seventh-seed Kei Nishikori take on ninth-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. Nishikori beat 26th seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 while Tsonga ousted his compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(7), 7-6(4).
