By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday January 22, 2017
Roger Federer outdueled Kei Nishikori, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, bursting into his 13th Australian Open quarterfinal in the last 14 years.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Roger Federer transformed Rod Laver Arena into a bounce house taking fans on a thrill ride.
On a night world No. 1 Andy Murray fell in a stunning exit, Federer rose in an exhilarating return to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
More: Zverev Shocks Murray In AO Upset
In a match of brilliant shotmaking and pulsating drama, the 17th-seeded Swiss outdueled Kei Nishikori, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, bursting into his 13th Australian Open quarterfinal in the last 14 years.
A fearless Federer fired an astounding 83 winners against one of the game’s quickest players.
“Kei played his heart out and I thought he played a great match, I'm happy to be a part of it," Federer. "He was hanging tough and playing really well on the big points. I was telling myself to stay calm and this is what I trained for in the offseason. This is a big moment for me in my career."
It was Federer’s 200th match victory against a Top 10 player.
While the world's top two—Murray and six-time champion Novak Djokovic—failed to survive the opening week, Federer and 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal are alive and thriving. The latter fact doesn't surprise Federer, though the former is a stunner.
"I felt like if Rafa and myself can be healthy, yes, you can expect that," Federer said. "That Novak and Andy are not, that is a big surprise. I never thought that Mischa Zverev and Denis Istomin would beat those two big guys.
"I guess it's good for tennis, you know, that a lot of guys believe stronger now that the top guys are beatable, are vulnerable, especially on a faster court. It happened completely in different circumstances. But two huge surprises. No doubt about that."
The 17-time Grand Slam champion backed up his commanding straight-sets sweep of Tomas Berdych fighting off the fifth-seeded Nishikori in three hours, 24 minutes of often ascendent tennis.
The serve was a key stroke to the Swiss' success. Federer drilled 24 aces and won 80 percent of his first-serve points. In contrast, Nishikori hit five aces and won 68 percent of his first-serve points.
"He was playing good tennis, I think, especially in the middle, second and third sets," said Nishikori, who dropped to 2-5 against Federer. "I maybe had some chance in fifth set, you know, to came back in the match, but he was way too strong."
Nishikori's compact, versatile backhand is one of the premier two-handers in the sport. He used that shot to try to confine Federer to his backhand corner, but the four-time Australian Open champion answered with authority, including bending this creative backhand winner around the net post.
"I think it's wonderful how he can wait till the last moment to change direction, also the way he finds angle cross-court. He's one of the few that can actually do it with power," Federer said of Nishikori. "His left hand must be very strong. He wrestles the ball there. I mean, I tried with variation, I tried with serve and volley, or maybe not playing there so much, slice when I can. Sometimes it's so hard that you cannot get under the ball so well.
"But I thought actually I hit my backhand very well tonight, which has probably won me the match for once, my backhand. Who knows."
Powering through the deciding set, Federer burst into his 49th career major quarterfinal.
Federer’s reward for a rousing victory is a quarterfinal date with his sometime practice partner Mischa Zverev.
Contesting his first major fourth-round match, the 50th-ranked Zverev produced a rousing display of all-court tennis shocking two-time Olympic gold-medalist Murray, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
The last time Murray lost to a player ranked as low as Zverev in Melbourne was in 2006 when he fell to No. 51 Juan Ignacio Chela in 2006.
"I believed in myself. I believed in my game," said Zverev, who grew up playing with Murray in the juniors. "I believed that playing serve and volley against him and slicing a lot, trying to destroy his rhythm was going to work, which it did in the end.
"I felt comfortable going, like, three, four sets, even though it wasn't that hot, but it was still pretty warm. I felt like I could hang in there with him, you know, sometimes rally and come in quickly. I feel like everything just worked out well."
The 35-year-old Federer has won both prior meetings with the left-handed Zverev, including a double-bagel shutout in their last meeting in the 2013 Halle quarterfinals.
Aiming to continue this flight, Federer will play for a spot in his 13th semifinal feeling good about his game.
"I think I'm playing better and better," Federer said. Today over a long period of time, I had to be refocused and playing good tennis. If I gave Kei too many opportunities, he was going to take them. I served exceptionally well tonight, which was key against Nishikori. I'm very pleased there. Rhythm from the baseline is there now."