Australian Open 2011: Federer’s Looking Like His Glorious Self Again and Wozniacki Claws Back to Make the Semis (Day Nine Review)

Roger Federer silenced the haters but Djokovic you would be a fool to write off Djokovic just yet. Either has the potential to halt the “Rafa Slam”. In the women’s, Wozniacki produced an impressive to comeback to fix a semi-finals date with Li Na.Men’s

When you’re Roger Federer – which, you know, happens to all of us at least once in our lives – people are going to pick your bones and give you sh*t about how you’re just not the player you used to be.

Haters gon’ hate.

Leading up to his quarterfinal showdown against Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, Federer had already given away four sets and been broken nine times in five matches. Last night, however, he looked like the revered Federer we all love and admire.

Federer bulldozed passed Wawrinka in a smooth hour and 47 minutes, hammering 77 per cent of his first serves in and producing a paltry 24 unforced errors. Wawrinka threw his racket and shattered the frame into little pieces.

Federer acknowledged his God-like superiority on the court. Speaking after the match he said: ”I prefer to play aggressive. I don’t overdo it either, because that’s not the point, just storming to the net, hit clean winners on every shot. It’s about building up the right plays and having the right game plan. That’s what I seem like I’m having.”

Good for you, Roger. Federer eventually took the match 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic is the man confronting Federer and his immense ego-boost, also sponsored by Nike, probably, after he defeated the Czech Tomas Berdych. The world number-three from Serbia looks ready to give everything he has to crash the Nadal-Federer bandwagon.

Berdych’s big chance came in the second set, leading 4-1; a crossroads where one route would lead him towards contention with the grand slam big boys and the other towards a straight sets exit and a long flight home. Berdych ended up with the latter. I hope they lose his luggage for that.

Djokovic took the match 6-1, 7-6, 6-1, and history favors him going into the semis. The Serb defeated Federer in the semi-finals in 2008, and went on to snatch the Australian Open title – until now his only grand slam.

Women’s

Yesterday I mentioned that Clijsters was going to run-away with the Australian Open. The bookmakers have my back.

But judging on yesterday’s performance, Caroline Wozniacki showed amazing resolve, coming back from a set and a break down to make the semi-finals.

She defeated the Italian Francesca Schiavone who was playing fresh off the back of her record breaking, close to 5-hour last-16 match.

Her strategy for recovery: be patient, keep composed and wait for your opponent to tire. And it worked like a charm. Wozniacki took the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

After the match, the Dane was presented with a three-foot tall blow-up kangaroo wearing a pair of boxing gloves at the press conference; a joking response after she was forced to apologize to the press for telling them that her leg was bandaged after being scratched by a kangaroo in a wildlife park. It turned out that she’d really just walked into a treadmill. Bonehead.

She meets Li Na of China, who beat the German Andrea Petkovic in a cool straight sets victory, 6-4, 6-2.

Authors note: This morning, the National Post in Canada not only gave an honorable mention to Milos Raonic, the featured him on the front-bloody-page. Kudos National Post, kudos.

Photos courtesy of AP and Reuters

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