Federer back on track
World tennis number one Roger Federer is through to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he will face American James Blake.
The Swiss top seed fought hard on Monday to beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 and appears to be on track for a third consecutive Australian title.
Federer rebounded from an uncharacteristic five-set scare in the third-round match against Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic on Saturday.
“This was a tough match today,” said Federer, who is going for his 13th grand slam title. “Thank God he didn’t win that second set because you never know what’s going to happen.”
For his part 12th-seed Blake, who advanced to the last eight in Australia for the first time, pledged to give it his best against Federer.
Blake’s style would seem to match up well with Federer’s because of his tendency to take balls early but the Swiss star holds a 7-0 record in head-to-head meetings. Blake has won only one set, but took encouragement from Tipsarevic’s near upset.
“It’s just a reminder that everyone’s human,” he said.
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