Roger Federer mounted one of the greatest comebacks of his career when he recovered from a two-set deficit to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Three-time champion Roger Federer mounted one of the greatest comebacks of his career on Sunday when he recovered from a two-set deficit to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open quarterfinals after a late-night win over 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis on Sunday. Djokovic was pushed to a fourth set before winning 6-1 7-6 (1) 6-7 (5) 6-2.
Czech 20th seed Tomas Berdych was on course for an almighty upset when he froze in the third set, with Federer finally winning 4-6 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-4 6-2 to stay on course for a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title.
Federer, 27, has not come back from two sets down since 2005, when he fought past Rafael Nadal in the Miami Masters final, and has not failed to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinals since the 2004 French Open. He also battled through a five-set tussle with Igor Andreev in the 4th round of last year’s US Open before recovering to win the title.
“It’s great satisfaction. I don’t play five-setters every day so it’s a very nice feeling,” Federer said. “I was feeling still fresh in the fifth. I think you could see it. That’s kind of the way I want to feel in a fifth set. That’s why I worked hard. I worked hard for this victory today. This is great.”
Federer came into the match on the back of a sweeping victory over old adversary Marat Safin and one-sided wins over Andreas Seppi and Evgeny Korolev. But despite winning his last seven matches with Berdych he looked out of sorts against the Czech, plodding around the court and making errors of every description.
Berdych was set for an almighty upset but he suddenly collapsed at 3-3 in the third, missing three easy volleys to hand Federer the break, the set and the momentum. “I wasn’t thinking of losing, that’s for sure. The finish line was still very far for Tomas. I knew that,” he said. “You can still concentrate on playing just the points instead of thinking, ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen?’ I didn’t feel that way. I felt after a terrible first set from my side that if I want to win this it’s going to go to five sets. I just felt it. That’s why I was prepared for five from the start. I think that’s what made me be so determined towards the end. It was nice being in a battle with him. It was tough, good tennis towards the end. I believed in it all the way, and I think that was key.”
Federer is seeking to equal Pete Sampras’s record 14 Grand Slam titles after starting his first season without the top ranking since 2004. He has reached the semifinals at the previous five Australian Opens, winning in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and last failed to reach the quarterfinals in 2003.
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