Federer Zips to Fourth Round; Youhzny Eliminated

Written by Shelly C. Dimaculangan
Roger Federer continues to braise tennis world as he advances to the next round of the Australian Open, defeating Russian Mikhail Youhzny 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5) at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. It was almost a clear sweep by the Swiss number one, nevertheless Youhzny had attempted to snatch the third set as it reached tiebreak.
“I knew he can play one great game and he’s back in it (third set). That’s kind of what happened really,” told Federer. Although Youhzny had to check his back for treatment after the first set, he seemed to have recovered quickly. During the third set, coming from a 3-0 deficit, Youhzny forced to tiebreak. But Federer took no chance for the 25th seeded Russian to take advantage of it.
“I was already happy being up two sets to love and the break. It’s just important to get out of the tiebreaker,” Federer stated.
Last year, Youhzny staggered second rank Rafael Nadal in U.S. Open semi-finals and winning it in four sets. Federer recognized Youhzny’s improvement and so he didn’t become complacent at all when he faced the Russian contender.
Pounding away from the baseline, Federer was more aggressive to the net as he won 28 out of 35 approaches as compared to Youhzny’s 6 out of 18. Despite having more unforced errors than Youhzny, he had better executions in drop shots and stung his opponent with nifty forehands.
Both players clinched identical seven service aces, one of which was amazingly won by Federer after challenging the ruling through instant replay in the first set.
Federer’s next opponent will be Novak Djokovic of Serbia who, at the same day, won against Doha Asian Games champion Danai Udomchoke of Thailand. Federer had beaten Djokovic twice last year but still, he doesn’t want to underrate the Serbian.
“[It] seems like he is playing pretty good. It’s a dangerous match for me, that’s for sure,” said Federer.