The fact that someone in Australia will be able to beat Roger was not very much believed on the eve of the tournament. As the last season showed, all other tennis players are too much behind the Swiss class now, and in two months of the off-season, this gap, even very hard training, could not be eliminated. It seemed that Andy Roddick could compete with Federer. The American even beat him three weeks ago in the finals of one of their demonstration tournaments, and in Australia showed tennis of a very high class, having won in the most dramatic match of our favorite Marat Safin. But when the paths of the two tennis players crossed in the semifinals, all the illusions were cruelly dispelled: Roddick essentially couldn’t even impose a fight, and Federer came up with a decisive statistical indicator - not a single lost set. Frankly, his opponent in the final, Fernando González, could only stop the opponent’s winning streak in sets, but not in matches. And, admittedly, the Chilean was close to this. In the first installment with a score of 4: 4, Roger made three unforced errors on his serve and allowed Gonzalez to make a break that could become decisive in the set. But the South American did not take advantage of such a gift from the gentleman’s shoulder, immediately allowing Federer to even the score and then transfer the game to a tie-break, where he, by tradition, does not leave any chances for his rivals. The other two sets were similar in the hopelessness of the outcome. At some points, it even seemed that Roger was playing impressively, choosing with which account he would like to end the game.
“To beat Federer you need not only to show your best tennis, but also to hope that he will show, for some reason, the worst for himself,” Gonzalez shared his impressions. “But for me, reaching the final was tantamount to winning the tournament, so I’m not really upset about losing in the decisive match. "
Federer also won the Australian Open for the third time, having done so earlier in 2004 and 2006. The only Grand Slam tournament that has not yet been submitted to the Swiss remains Roland Garros, dominated by Spaniard Rafael Nadal. This barrier will be the main obstacle to total victory.
“I really play weaker on the ground than on any other surface, but I am progressing every year,” the Swiss answered questions about his chances for “Grand Slam.” “In fact, now only Nadal plays me better on the ground, but I’m already I know how to defeat him. Bear with a little. "
Andrey IVANTSOV