Playing Federer is always special – Murray

FACING Roger Federer is something Andy Murray will never take for granted.
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of SerbiaStanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia

The pair will meet for the 21st time in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this morning, with Murray looking to extend his head-to-head lead to 12-9.

Asked if there was still something special about playing Federer, the Scot said: “I think there’s always going to be because of everything that he’s achieved in the game.

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“Whenever Roger finishes, or Rafa (Nadal), I am not going to play against guys that have won 17, 14, 15 slams, however many Rafa has won, however many he’ll go on to win.

“So it’s always going to be special playing against him.”

Murray’s hopes of winning the tournament were aided yesterday when Stanislas Wawrinka ended defending champion Novak Djokovic’s 25-match winning run in Melbourne.

Djokovic’s 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 loss removes one of Murray’s biggest threats of lifting the trophy Down Under.

Federer is looking for his 18th grand slam title and the chances of him achieving that looked remote at best until he demolished Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round.

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It was a vintage performance from Federer, who appears to have recovered from back problems that heavily contributed to his struggles in 2013.

This will be his first match against Murray since they met in the semi-finals here 12 months ago, a match the Scot won in five sets for his first grand slam victory over the Swiss, who has beaten him in three slam finals.

“I’ve played him 20 times I think,” said Murray.

“So all of those matches, it’s all experience. You know how you need to play against him, tactically things that work and things that don’t work.

“Obviously last year is pretty relevant because it’s on the same court and it will be under the same conditions. But in an individual sport, any day is a new day. Anything can happen.

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“You play 10 per cent below your best, you can be off the court quickly. So whether my tactics are great or not, I need to play a great match to win.”

This will also be the first meeting between two of the super coaches, with Murray’s mentor Ivan Lendl coming up against former 1980s rival Stefan Edberg.

Edberg has committed to working with Federer for at least 10 weeks this year, and commentators were quick to put two and two together when the Swiss showed a particular willingness to charge to the net against Tsonga.

Murray said: “You would assume that’s something that Edberg would be able to help with. He was pretty good at that.

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“But at the same time, they’ve been working together for a week. You’ll see how much the coaches have helped the players and the things they’ve been working on in three, four, five months’ time.”

Murray’s route to the last eight has been unusual, with the Scot beating three players ranked outside the top 100 as well as familiar foe Feliciano Lopez.

Murray’s first blip came on Monday when he dropped the third set to Stephane Robert having held four match points but he quickly recovered.

The lack of high-class opponents means there is still a certain unknown factor about Murray’s level following back surgery in September.

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This will be only his seventh competitive match since then, but Lendl does not believe it will be an issue.

He said: “I think Andy’s ready to go toe to toe with these guys but even if you’re really ready and you haven’t had any setbacks or injuries to come back from, you still never know what’s going to happen.

“He still could lose the match easily. But Andy had a good (training) block in Miami, he has played enough matches now, so none of that is an issue.”

Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic agrees, the Croatian saying: “He’s recovered well. He wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t recovered.

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“He hits the ball very good, he plays well, he moves well, and he is ready. He thinks he can win the tournament.”

In the last four, Wawrinka will face Tomas Berdych, who upset third seed David Ferrer 6-1 6-4 2-6 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time.

Djokovic was bidding to become the first man since Roy Emerson to win four straight Australian Open titles, and he had not lost a match since the US Open final in September.

Twelve months ago, Djokovic won a fourth-round encounter against Wawrinka 12-10 in the fifth set in Melbourne while the outcome was the same when they met in the last four at the 
US Open.

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Wawrinka said: “Last year, it was really tough but this year I came back, it’s a new year. I did not start well, I was not feeling great on the court. I tried everything. He’s an amazing champion and he never gives up but I’m really, really, really happy.”

In the other quarter-final, it looked like being another walk in the park until Berdych’s level dropped in the third set and Ferrer roared back. The Spaniard seemed to have the momentum in the fourth, too, but Berdych hung on and then claimed the crucial break of serve.