Roger Federer waves to the crowd after his victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their men's semi-final matchat the Australian Open. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)
It took Roger Federer only 91 minutes to dispatch an ailing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–2, 6–3, 6–2, to advance to the Finals of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
“I am very surprised how the match went; I expected quite differently,” Federer told an ESPN reporter after the match. “Tonight maybe was one of those days where he needed that first set so badly and maybe after that he sort of let his head hang a bit, and was a bit disappointed, and I took advantage of it.”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tried hard against Roger Federer but was never in the match. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Federer came into the match having had a fairly easy tournament, while Tsonga had a pair of hard five-set matches. But tenth-ranked Tsonga also knew that he and Federer had split the two games they had played previously, With his big serve and powerful forehand, Tsonga, if healthy, had every chance to beat Roger Federer.
Federer came on court looking relaxed and confident, while Tsonga looked nervous. Mentally, Tsonga needed to be 100% mentally to have a chance against Federer, but he came on court looking nervous. Then Federer charged the net on his first serve and hit a winner past Tsonga, setting the tone for the rest of the match.
Federer took the first set in half an hour, never seeming strained Tsonga fought hard on a few pints, but hit too many unforced errors.
A few games into the second set, Tsonga started rubbing the lower left side of his stomach. Whether he had pulled abdominal muscles or a gastric ailment, it seemed to slow him down, taking pace off his serve and hindering his movement.
Federer said he didn’t notice Tsonga holding his stomach, and didn’t think anything of Tsonga’s slowed serve. “Sometimes it is a good thing that you don’t know about his injuries and stuff. I ‘m happy I played through I played solid, nothing exceptional.”
Not that Federer needed any help. He was making shots from anywhere on the court to anywhere; everything hid did worked. Federer was in fine form, so dispatching a weakened opponent took no effort.
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Tsonga didn’t surrender; he played the whole match, fighting back to hold serve in the seventh game of the final set to make Federer serve out the match. But Federer was on, and Tsonga was not, and the match was nothing more than an easy workout for Federer.
On to the Finals
Federer will be playing in his 23rd consecutive Grand Slam Final when he faces Scotland’s Andy Murray. Murray, who has a six-four edge against Federer, has only faced him once in a final, at the 2008 U.S. Open where the Swiss master beat him in straight sets 6–2, 7–5, 6–2.
Roger Federer could hit his forehand from anywhere on the court to anywhere on the court, with pace and precision. (Paul Crock/AFP/Getty Images)
Federer talked a bit about the upcoming match. “I am not surprised he made it through to the finals I thought it could be one of those years he’s going to make a break, and I think he did that by beating Rafa, and then making it through to another final. Now the questions is can he go all the way.”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga managed to hit 21 winners but had 27 unforced errors in his match against Roger Federer. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Murray will be trying to break a 74-year losing streak for UK players at the Australian Open. The UK press is writing reams about his chances.
Roger Federer looked relaxed in his semifinal match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga; Federer never seemed to have to work hard. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
“He’s got loads of expectations,” Federer said of his Scottish Opponent, “but I think he’s actually handling it very well. He’s just a regular guy who knows he plays good tennis and he can beat the best. He will definitely come out there believing he can beat me. He’s beaten me more than I’ve beaten him, that will help him.
“I hope he hopes too badly to win the first set, and then maybe let’s his head hang again. We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited about the match.”
Federer said the first set would not mean much to him, but would be crucial for Murray, “just because of him never having won a Grand Slam before. But yesterday, against Cilic, he lost the first set and came back and cruised to the end. So that shows now that he’s really become a good champion. We always have very tactical matches so it’s going to be interesting to see what he chooses and what I choose.”
Federer said he didn’t expect Murray to attack, as he did against Rafael Nadal in their quarter-final match.
He’s never played overly offensive against me. He’s usually just keeping the ball in play and just being really tough.
“He’s one of the greatest returners we have in the game right now If he serves well on the first serve it’s tough to break him, because he’s so tough off the baseline.
“But I think against Rafa that was a unique Andy Murray we saw. Rafa was really struggling picking up Andy’s serve, whereas Cilic yesterday was returning him actually quite easily for three sets almost.
“I expect him to play sort of medium tennis, not too aggressive, not too passive, but just on the right points, and the same thing for me.“
