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Tag Roger Federer

Sport

Federer fights off Cilic to win sixth Australian Open

NAN-S-2
Final
Abuja, Jan. 28, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Roger Federer fought off a fierce challenge from Croatia’s Marin Cilic to claim a record-equaling sixth Australian Open title with 6-2 6-7(5) 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory on Sunday.

With the Rod Laver Arena roof closed to spare the players on a witheringly hot day in Melbourne, the 36-year-old Swiss was gliding towards a 20th Grand Slam title.

He took the opening set against a nervy opponent in 24 minutes.

For a while it looked horribly reminiscent of Cilic’s heavy defeat by Federer in last year’s Wimbledon final when the 29-year-old was hampered by blisters and broke down in tears.

But the sixth seed, playing in his first Australian Open final after knocking out injured world number Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, showed great resolve.

He saved break points at 1-1, 2-2 and 4-4 in the second set before crunching some huge forehands in the tiebreaker to level the match against all the odds.

Federer won the third set with a single break of serve.

But from a position of strength in the fourth he began to fade and lost five games on the spin.

An increasingly dangerous Cilic looked to be getting back, as he dragged a slow-burning final into a decider.

Defending champion Federer regrouped though and after fighting off a break point at the start of the fifth, Cilic’s resistance crumbled as the crowd roared Federer on to victory.

“I‘m so happy , it’s unbelievable, it’s been a long day,” Federer said. “I‘m happy it’s over now. The fairytale continues for us. For me, it’s incredible,” said an emotional Federer as he cradled the Norman Brookes trophy.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Dominant Federer enters Australian Open final after Chung quits

NAN-S-17
Tennis
Abuja, Jan. 26, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) A ruthless Roger Federer handed wounded Chung Hyeon an old-fashioned schooling before the South Korean quit with blistered feet in a damp squib of an Australian Open semi-final on Friday.

Federer was detained for only 62 minutes under the Rod Laver Arena roof as his opponent threw in the towel trailing 6-1 5-2.

The Swiss thus set up a final against Croatia’s Marin Cilic who pummeled another young gun, Kyle Edmund, on Thursday.

The 36-year-old defending champion swarmed all over the world number 58 from the first game, breaking immediately before repeating the feat twice more to grab the opening set in 33 minutes.

When Chung held serve for 1-1 in the second set, a huge cheer erupted from an Australia Day crowd who had hoped to witness a classic battle of the generations.

But the bespectacled 21-year-old, nicknamed ‘the professor’, simply had no answer to Federer’s firepower.

Federer broke for 3-1 with a dipping backhand pass, and thereafter Chung’s hopes of becoming the first South Korean to reach a grand slam final looked completely hopeless.

This was after he needed treatment on his foot blisters after losing the next game,

Chung managed to win one more game but his movement was clearly affected and he threw in the towel, departing the arena to sympathetic applause with a smattering of boos.

It was a desperately disappointing end to an epic clash.

A first meeting between 19-times Grand Slam champion Federer and the man whose stunning fourth-round victory over six-times Melbourne champion Novak Djokovic made the world sit up and take notice.

“I thought the first set was kind of normal, I couldn’t tell what was going on with my opponent,” Federer, who looked as stunned as the crowd at the sudden stoppage, said on court.

“In the second set, I could feel he was getting a bit slower, fighting with the blister. It hurts a lot.

“It’s better to stop, that’s why this one feels bittersweet. Credit to him for trying so hard again today.”

Federer, who has reached the final of a Grand Slam without dropping a set for the sixth time, will be a big favorite to claim his 20th major title on Sunday.

He beat the big-serving sixth seed in last year’s Wimbledon final when Cilic also suffered painful blisters to his feet.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Federer makes light of day shift to ease into last eight

NAN-S-15
Tennis
Abuja, Jan. 22, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Roger Federer was a strictly nocturnal beast throughout the first week of the Australian Open but proved just as effective with the sun on his back on Monday.

The Swiss sauntered into the quarter-finals for the 14th time with a comfortable 6-4 7-6(3) 6-2 win over 80th-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

The defending champion did not require his dazzling best in his first match scheduled during the day session but still emerged a winner.

After his earlier-than-usual finish, the 36-year-old world number two said he might even be able to make the most of a night off and take his wife Mirka out for dinner.

“I was considering sunglasses and a towel for the beach but, no, the only thing is the racket strings are a bit tighter. But it’s not crazy hot today,” Federer told former champion Jim Courier in a knockabout post-match chat on court.

“It’s a different rhythm playing in the day and not going to bed at 3 a.m. We might go out for dinner tonight but Mirka has left already — she must have other plans!”

Federer’s light mood matched the sunny conditions and he was even reduced to giggles during one point late in the second set when he miss-hit a forehand high into the air.

He then defended three consecutive Fucsovics smashes to win a bizarre rally.

“This one was the biggest joke of a point maybe I have ever played,” the Swiss said later.

“Thankfully it didn’t decide the outcome of that second set. That would have been too much of a joke, to be honest.”

Federer is yet to drop a set and did not even face a break point against the 25-year-old Fucsovics.

The Hungarian had arrived in Melbourne without a Grand Slam main draw victory to his name.

Yet his unheralded opponent offered an all-round display that belied his record, even if it did not surprise Federer.

He was bidding to become only the third Hungarian man to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final in the professional era.

“I practised with him for a few days in a row in Switzerland. That helped, you know, knowing his strength and weaknesses a little bit,” the defending champion said.

“He was not completely the unknown opponent that maybe people thought he was.

“He hung with me for a long time. So, it was a good match.”

Federer was in cruise control in the first set, but struck decisively when Fucsovics served at 4-5, squeezing the throttle enough to earn a set point converted with a smash.

Fucsovics kept Federer honest in the second set and played his part in some entertaining rallies to extend the 19-times Grand Slam champion to a tiebreak.

Federer rifled a running forehand pass to earn three set points and again finished the set at the net, with a smash.

The third set was all over in 31 minutes as Federer raced into the 52nd Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.

With it he booked a last eight encounter against 19th seeded Czech Tomas Berdych. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Shanghai Masters: Nadal crushes Fognini, Federer joins him in quarters

NAN-S-17
Quarter-finals
Abuja, Oct. 12, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) Rafael Nadal continued to scythe his way through the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-1 thrashing of temperamental Italian Fabio Fognini.

The Spaniard needed two minutes over the hour to dispatch Fognini, taking his winning streak to 14 matches pre-U.S. Open where he claimed a 16th Grand Slam title.

Nadal is closing in on finishing 2017 as world number one for the first time since 2013 but Roger Federer, the only man who can stop him, is looking equally impressive.

Federer delighted his small army of Chinese fans inside the Qi Zhong Centre with an emphatic 6-4 6-2 defeat of tricky Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Fognini was playing the day after being handed a suspended ban from two Grand Slams and a $96,000 fine for verbally abusing a female umpire at the U.S. Open.

But there was little fight from the 30-year-old as the 31-year-old Nadal lost only six points on serve in the opening set.

While a Nadal-Federer final looms, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro could ruin the script, as he did at the U.S. Open.

There he defeated Federer in the quarter-finals when a semi-final between the two greats looked likely.

The former U.S. Open champion stopped third seed Alexander Zverev, recovering from losing the opener to win 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4.

“I think he played a great match, maybe one of the best of the season,” Zverev said.

Sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov, who saved match points on Wednesday against Ryan Harrison, had a more comfortable day as he beat American 10th seed Sam Querrey 6-3 7-6(3).

Bulgarian Dimitrov, who could claim a debut appearance at the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month by reaching the final in Shanghai, plays Nadal next.

Wimbledon runner-up Marin Cilic also eased into the quarter-finals with a 7-6(1) 6-4 defeat of American Steve Johnson.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

 

Sport

Federer makes 50th grand slam quarter-finals

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Federer
Abuja, July 10, 2017 (NAN) Roger Federer on Monday extended his dominance against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, beating him 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in a fourth round encounter to move into his 15th Wimbledon quarter-final.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seven-time champion now stands alone atop the Open Era list for most Wimbledon quarter-final appearances.

The 35-year-old advances to his 50th Grand Slam quarter-final, another best in the Open Era, and is now 6-0 against Dimitrov in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

The Swiss right-hander has won all but two of the 16 sets they have played since their first meeting at the 2013 Swiss Indoors Basel.

Dimitrov had not dropped a set during his first three Wimbledon matches and the 2014 Wimbledon semi-finalist had looked primed to challenge Federer.

But the third seed was nearly untouchable in the familiar Centre Court environment.

The two exchanged holds until 4-4 in the first set, when Federer stepped up to break for a 5-4 lead and then serve the set out to love.

Federer quickly pounced in the second set, seeing two break points at 2-2 after Dimitrov double faulted.

The 26-year-old Bulgarian finished with seven double faults for the match, compared to seven aces.

And Federer would need only one break point in that fifth game, converting it when Dimitrov slapped a forehand wide as he struggled to challenge Federer in his service games.

At 6-4, 4-2, Federer’s average service game was lasting only one minute and 21 seconds.

For the match, the Swiss right-hander landed 70 per cent of his first serves and won 75 per cent of his service points.

The third-seeded Federer has yet to drop a set this fortnight, and will face either 2016 finalist Milos Raonic or German Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.

Raonic beat Federer in last year’s semi-finals to reach his maiden Grand Slam title match.

Federer dismissed Zverev last month in the Gerry Weber Open final in Halle.(NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Federer enjoys milestone day at Wimbledon

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Federer
Abuja, July 4, 2017 (NAN) Seven-time champion Roger Federer became the Open Era match-wins leader at Wimbledon on Tuesday, earning his 85th match victory when Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov retired when he was down 3-6, 0-3.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 35-year-old Federer had been tied with Jimmy Connors of the U.S. at 84 wins.

The Swiss reached the second round at the All England Club for the 15th consecutive year and looked in form during the 42 minutes of action on Centre Court.

Federer, who never faced a break point during the first-round match, hit 10 aces to hit 10,004 aces.

He also struck 18 winners and broke Dolgopolov three times to improve to 4-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Federer now joins Goran Ivanisevic and Ivo Karlovic as the only three players who have hit 10,000 aces since 1991, when the ATP started tracking the statistic.(NAN)
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(Edited by Hajia Sani and Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Federer demolishes Zverev to win 9th Halle title

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Federer
Halle (Germany), June 25, 2017 (Reuters/NAN) World number five Roger Federer delivered a tennis masterclass to beat rising star Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-3 and clinch a record ninth Halle Open title on Sunday.

The 18-times Grand Slam champion, who skipped the clay court season to prepare for grass after winning the Australian Open and titles in Indian Wells and Miami, was in ominous form.

The Swiss won in Halle without dropping a single set all week as he laid down a marker in the lead-up to Wimbledon.

“It has been a difficult year with a lot of practice, training and rehab so I am very happy to be back on the court,” Federer said.

“I do not know if I will ever be going to win this tournament again, so I will enjoy this one,” said the Swiss, who has won eight Wimbledon titles.

The 35-year-old, defeated in his first comeback match in Stuttgart last week, took control from the start with an early break and kept world number 12 Zverev on his toes.

He earned a second break point with some deft volleying, which he pounced on to race through the first set in 24 minutes.

NAN reports that Zverev, who beat the Swiss in last year’s semi-final and has already won three titles this year, had a chance to break at the start of the second set.

But he simply could not discover a chink in Federer’s armor, even as he attempted to mix up his game by forcing the Swiss to come to the net more often.

A superb dropshot put Federer 5-2 ahead and sealed Zverev’s fate before he won the match on his first match point with a crosscourt volley.

In doing so, he became the first player to beat both Zverev brothers at the same event, having defeated older sibling Mischa in the round of 16. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Federer beats Nadal to win third Miami Open title

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Federer
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, April 2, 2017 (NAN) Roger Federer on Sunday overcame long-term rival Rafael Nadal to win the Miami Open for the third time and continue his remarkable start to the season.

The 35-year-old built on January’s Australian Open win and last month’s Indian Wells success with a convincing 6-3 6-4 win over the Spaniard.

The pair shared 10 break points in the opening set, with Federer the only man to take one to crucially move 5-3 up.

He exuded control throughout, breaking at 4-4 in the second and serving out.

A sweeping backhand down the line in the final game summed up the confidence which poured from the champion from start to finish.

It helped him to move to an 11-match winning streak and improved his match record to 19 wins and just one defeat in 2017.

A fourth straight win over Nadal — his longest winning streak in their 13-year professional rivalry — also makes Federer the oldest winner of the Miami Open.

He looked cool and calm throughout and his dominance this year is perhaps all the more remarkable given he took six months off through the second half of the 2016 season.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the time off was for him to recover from a knee injury.(NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Federer to face Nadal in Miami Open final

NAN-S-2
Tennis
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, April 1, 2017 (NAN) Roger Federer beat Australia’s Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (11/9), 6-7 (9/11), 7-6 (7/5) to set up a mouth-watering Miami Open final against Rafael Nadal.

Federer and Kyrgios produced an extraordinary range of shots in a thrilling three-hour, fiercely intense semi-final that kept a capacity crowd at Key Biscayne on the edge of their seats.

When Federer won the third tie-break a furious Kyrgios hammered his racket into the ground three times as the frustration of a remarkable near-miss came flooding out.

Kyrgios broke in the first set to go 4-3 up but Federer, backed by the loud crowd, broke back to level at 5-5 when the Australian missed with an attempted big return.

The big-hitting Kyrgios was frequently booed by the crowd for racquet throwing and language –– and sometimes for very little –- but appeared to be enjoying the role of pantomime villain.

The first set tie-break was a gripping affair with the Australian twice having set point before it was decided when his return went wide.

The boos rang out again as he hurled his racquet in frustration.

The serve dominated more in the second set and with neither player able to break another tie-break was needed.

Federer had match-point at 8-7 but found the net with his return.

Kyrgios finally won the battle with an amazing cross-court return to go 10-9 up, then followed it up with a thundering ace to force a third set.

There was nothing to choose between the pair in a third set that went to yet another tie-break.

Kyrgios was furious when a fan called out during one point.

Federer then enjoyed two successful challenges late on his way to a win that sent the crowd wild with delight as Kyrgios went wild with rage.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there was little drama in Nadal’s 6-1, 7-5 win over Italian Fabio Fognini in the other semi-final encounter.

The unseeded Fognini struggled to get going in the first set which was dominated by fifth-seeded Nadal and over with in 25 minutes.

The Italian, who indicated he had some trouble with his elbow, put up a better response in the second.

But his work was undone when he double-faulted on break point, leaving the Spaniard to serve out for the win,

Nadal will play in his fifth Miami final but will be looking for his first title in the Masters series event.

“I think I played a very good first set,” Nadal said. “He had mistakes obviously. In the second, it was not about losing concentration, it’s about not being lucky at the beginning of the second set.

“Normally, I would have a break at the beginning of the second. I had so many chances and then situation changes.

“When you don’t convert opportunities you’re in trouble, and that’s what happened,” he said.

Federer beat Nadal in an Australian Open final thriller in January to claim an 18th Grand Slam title.

He also swept past Nadal in straight sets in the fourth round at Indian Wells en route to the title there.

“If it’s Roger, going to be another one for both of us, and that’s it. Just another one,” Nadal said of another instalment in their long-running rivalry. (NAN)
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(Edited by Morayo Omolade and Olawale Alabi)