SHARE
COPY LINK

ROGER FEDERER

Federer beats Karlovic to make 11th Swiss final

Roger Federer defied a 33-ace onslaught from Ivo Karlovic to reach his ninth straight final at the Swiss Indoors on Saturday with a 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 victory.

Federer beats Karlovic to make 11th Swiss final
Photo: AFP

The five-time hometown champion is now into his 11th career final at the St Jakobshalle, the event where he got his start in the sport two decades ago as a ballboy.

"I'm clearly relieved, it was always going to be a match like this against him," said Federer, now 12-1 over man-mountain Karlovic.

"You always have a good feeling getting out of a match like this as the winner."

It took a mighty effort from the 33-year-old world number two who achieved the break he needed in the third game of the final set.

Federer landed a return at the Croatian giant's feet which Karlovic netted to hand over three break points.

Karlovic then double-faulted as Federer broke for 2-1 to wild screams from a partisan crowd in excess of 9,000.

The end eventually came when the top seed leapt for an overhead smash for three match points. One was all he needed, with a volley winner sealing a Sunday final with Belgian outsider David Goffin.

"He served the best he ever has against me," said Federer. "I'm very impressed with how big he served.

"I never expected to break in that third set. I was very happy to get that and bring it home."

Top seed Federer added: "It's unbelievable how successful I've been at this tournament.

"I'm clearly overjoyed and hope to play another good match and enjoy the final. I really felt the crowd support today.

"The (Basel) streak is great, but I'm only focussed on trying to win tomorrow."

The 28th-ranked Goffin ended the dream run of teenager Borna Coric, the conqueror of Rafael Nadal, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in his semi-final.

Croatian Coric, 17, and ranked 124th, was brought down to earth less than 24 hours after he won the match of his career, defeating 14-time major winner Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Federer is expecting a challenge from a finals opponent with nothing to lose and running with huge current confidence. The Swiss won their previous meeting in the Roland Garros fourth round two years ago.

"He's a very talented player who has all the shots," said 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer. "It will be a difficult final. When you are winning so much, you almost forget how to lose."

Goffin, a low-key character at the best of times whose baby-face disguises a killer instinct on court, credited his steady, calm demeanour with getting him through against Coric.

"I'm pretty calm on and off the court," said the Belgian.

"I think my personality helps me manage on the big points. I'm really happy to have won and reached the final," said the seventh seed who needed four match points to close out Coric.

"It's never easy to finish a match. I was nervous and I'm pleased that I won."

Goffin, who has exploded into form since Wimbledon with a 43-2 record, has this season won ATP titles at Kitzbuhel and Metz as well as four trophies on the lower-level Challenger circuit.

"It's a great period for me, I've been playing better and better in each match, I have the confidence now and that is helping me. I'm able to just keep winning right now."

The Belgian won the first set Saturday but found himself level-pegging in the second after Coric struck back with his fifth and sixth aces to earn the second set.

In the third, Goffin broke for 3-1 and eventually earned three match points from a Coric error.

The Belgian double-faulted on one of his winning opportunities but secured the win on his fourth match point from a Coric return over the baseline.

Goffin, 23, earned the first top 10 win of his career in the quarter-finals as he defeated number nine Milos Raonic.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ROGER FEDERER

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

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

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.

SHOW COMMENTS