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ROGER FEDERER

Federer off to fast start in Melbourne opener

Leading contenders Roger Federer, of Switzerland, and Britain's Andy Murray were fast out of the blocks with straight-sets victories in their opening matches at the Australian Open.

Published: 15 January 2013 12:08 CET

Federer off to fast start in Melbourne opener

Federer playing in Melbourne on Tuesday. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP

Federer, the record 17-time Grand Slam champion and chasing his fifth Australian title, made light work of his first outing of 2013 with a three-set demolition of Frenchman Benoit Paire on Tuesday.

Third seed Murray was equally impressive in clinically dismantling Dutchman Robin Haase, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 to progress safely to the second round.

Elsewhere as temperatures climbed on the second day of the year-opening major, 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won an all-French contest in straight sets over Michael Llodra, while big-serving Canadian 13th seed Milos Raonic took four sets to oust Jan Hajek.

Second seed Federer showed few signs of rustiness in his first match of the year as he demolished the 46th-ranked Paire 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 in 1hour 23 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena.

The 31-year-old Swiss maestro gave Paire little respite with six service breaks, while his own serve was rock-solid with no breaks conceded.

There was little Paire could do to stop the cascade of winners off the racquet of Federer, who is bidding to become only the second man after Australia's Roy Emerson to win five Australian Open titles.

"I'm very happy with the first round match, total control," Federer said.

"He can be a tricky opponent, but I guess his playing style doesn't disturb me that much overall.

"I'm happy I was able to play a clean match out there today."

Murray, 25, was authoritative in his first match in Melbourne, needing just 1 hour 37 minutes to take apart the erratic Haase with eight service breaks and making just 20 unforced errors in the 25 games.

Much has changed in Murray's life since his career-transforming victory over world number one Novak Djokovic in last year's US Open final, and he is among the favourites at the year's opening major tournament.

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Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

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