AO Day 5: Roger Rolls to 300

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Roger Federer has amassed 300 wins at slam level. He has appeared in close to 70 slams. He has not missed a slam in his career due to injury and is just six wins from Martina Navratilova’s record. He is the oldest man to make the fourth round here since Andre Agassi 11 years ago. He continues to smash records and, aged 34, he is the second best player in the world. It is more than insanity, it is a defiance of science, proven science. He should be too old, too worn, to continue at this level. But no. A combination of a youthful game, great dietary work, freedom of schedule and a lack of competent successors all add into Federer’s longevity.

The strange thing is, the longer he sticks around, the better he is likely to do. He has already outlasted Nadal. Surely Djokovic and Murray, both of whom will shortly be 29, are entering their twilight. Or perhaps Federer is the harbinger of a long playing career for everyone. The key thing is just to enjoy the presence of the maestro while he is still around.

The other theme was the big guys getting past potentially difficult opponents. As discussed in this blog throughout the week, they avoided the upset. Well, Cilic lost to Agut 6-4, 7-6[5], 7-5 but that barely counts as an upset. He blasted 55 errors in his loss. Marin Cilic is a one-slam wonder and is consigned to be forever the answer to a pub trivia question. Federer and Berdych got through against very dangerous opponents with nothing to lose, while steady Seppi was swept aside by Novak.

And Nick Kyrgios has thrown another wobbly on the court. BACKSPIN does not usually like to talk about these things but the link is here. It’s just depressing to a player who should be a role model, should be a leader of the future generation behaving so recklessly. Both he and Tomic have had their problems, though Tomic has all his problems away from court. Bernie has worked hard and because his problems are not on-court it is easy to separate them. Both still have issues but I do worry for Nick. It could be he will be like Agassi and straighten out over the course of his career. I hope it happens soon because right now these incidents make me sad.

But what else happened during the day? Well, let’s find out.

*Suicide Picks*
MS 1st Rd: Dimitrov d. Lorenzo {W}
MS 2nd Rd: Kyrgios [29] d. Cuevas {W}
MS 3rd Rd: Tomic [16] d. Millman
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WS 1st Rd: Gavrilova d. Hradecka {W}
WS 2nd Rd: Mladenovic [28] d. Gibbs {W}
WS 3rd Rd: Beck d. Siegemund {W}


ROD LAVER: FEDERER D. DIMITROV
...If you go and sit on a major court at a slam and the first match up on the order of play is this, you know you’re in for a good day. Federer is now 5-0 in the head-to-head but that doesn’t matter because they entertain and delight the masses. Dimitrov really tried here, just like in Brisbane. But Federer can find a level where others cannot follow. Even Murray looks mortal when asked to match Federer at that level. When Federer hits that level you have no chance. Luckily, Dimitrov could match him when it dropped. The Swiss rolled through in under three hours 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. He could only manage 48-55 on the winners. Dimitrov was very poor in that respect at only 23-44. Still, Fed broke four times and was only broken once. He served consistently and, of course, attacked the net. He does look in good form, especially if he can lessen the errors. It is likely another four-setter is coming in the shape of David Goffin. These earlier tests are good and bad, of course. One wants to be tested, but not overly so.
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ROD LAVER: BERDYCH D. KYRGIOS
...Very similar scoreline to the Federer match here. Berdych through 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. He was almost bageled, too. But in just over two hours, the Aussie was out. He will drop in the rankings and in his reputation. He only hit 26 errors and broke twice. But Tomas hit even more winners. He was solid, too solid for the distracted and erratic Kyrgios. We all saw what Kyrgios could do in the third set. We should fear him but only when he is on form. He only won 37 per cent of 2nd serve points and there-in lies the issue. Berdman wins their first meeting but now he has a much more different match. He must face off against the opposite to Kyrgios - the just as big-hitting but infinitely more patient Bautista-Agut. The Spaniard can whack the ball but he is so measured. He knocked out Cilic in three sets and will be feeling confident.
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MCA: NISHIKORI D. GARCIA-LOPEZ
...Nishikori is through to face Tsonga after defeating GGL 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. He ground out an unremarkable, error-strewn, four-setter. With 7 breaks and neither player managing to serve over 200 even once, this was one for the fanatics. There weren’t even really net points. This match is like a generic Bruce Willis film. Some exciting bits, a lot of potential but ultimately just not as good as some of his others. ‘Tis a pity. But congrats to the Spaniard for fulfilling his seeding. He can look forward to going back onto the dirt soon.
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MCA: TSONGA D. HERBERT
...First Mahut and now his doubles partner. Herbert is a really talented doubles player. He can already read the game to an impressive level. And he is still only a kid. Tsonga came through in two hours 6-4, 7-6[7], 7-6[4]. As expected, Herbert came to net 63 times. He won the point 41 times - it proved to be a successful tactic. Both players served big but inconsistently. The important thing for Tsonga is that he moves on. He has been having a very successful tournament thus far. His 50 aces in three matches put him 7th in the tournament, but he is set to rise. Next up is Nishikori and I think the Frenchman is the favourite. Kei leads the head to head 4-2 but Tsonga won their last. It was in Paris and it went five. Will Tsonga’s grand slam experience, particularly here, help him?
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HISENSE: DJOKOVIC D. SEPPI
...This is scheduling I understand. This match is not quite of RLA calibre when compared to the other men’s matches. When you add in the women’s matches, this was a perfect fit for MCA. Djokovic won 6-1, 7-5, 7-6[6] but Seppi was inches from forcing a fourth set. Djokovic ground through this sloppy match, going 34-37 on the winners count. BACKSPIN cannot remember the last time he made 37 errors in a three-setter or the last time he was negative on the winner stats. Luckily for him, Seppi was only 29-38. Novak never lost his serve, but broke three times. His serving stats were really good, including the fact he had over 70 per cent on his first serve rate. Gilles Simon just blew away Delbonis, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 and he should take a set. The easy matches ran out a while ago for the top seed, if there ever were any in the first place.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: GOFFIN D. THIEM
...It took Goffin 120 seconds shy of three hours to come through a four set war against Thiem. Thiem had avoided upsets in the first two rounds, but this time he was the hunter and not the hunted. It is difficult to play such a different role. Goffin was simply too solid, winning 6-1, 3-6, 7-6[5], 7-5. Around 35-40 per cent of the points ended in errors - this was a real grind. Both service percentages were just above 55 per cent. Goffin broke six times, which is good but against Federer, he cannot surrender serve four times. When playing the Swiss, Goffin has to hold serve. If he can improve the second serve, he will be able to do that more easily. He also has to do more than just put it on Federer’s backhand side.
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Kiki is gone, but she did achieve her seeding at least. She and Gavrilova played a match that was just short of three hours. The Aussie triumphed 6-4, 4-6, 11-9. That last set alone lasted 96 minutes. Incredibly, Gavrilova hit just a single ace. Both ladies served more doubles than aces as there were a combined 13 breaks throughout the match. Kiki made the third round and performed well so she gets a pass. Next time she has to take advantage of the draw.

Thanks and visit WTA BACKSPIN.

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