Roger Federer is back in Melbourne action Monday. Standing in his way of the quarterfinals is familiar foe Milos Raonic.
Roger Federer and Milos Raonic will be going squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in round four of the Australian Open on Monday.
Federer won all three of their meetings last season, but every one of the trio went the distance (including two that ended in third-set tiebreakers). The second-ranked Swiss prevailed 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 on the hard courts of Indian Wells, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) on the blue clay of Madrid, and 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3) on the grass courts of Halle.
Clearly this one has the makings of another must-see thriller, and the current form of both men does nothing to dispel such a notion. Federer has not dropped a set through three rounds in Melbourne and he has come close to losing only one–the second against Bernard Tomic on Saturday. Prior to his win over the Aussie, Federer hammered Benoit Paire and Nikolay Davydenko.
Federer interview after beating Tomic:
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Raonic has also won nine sets in a row following an early-season hiccup that included a loss to Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane and a first-set donation to Jan Hajek on Tuesday. After storming past Hajek, the 15th-ranked Canadian made quick work of both Lukas Rosol and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
“I’ve had some tough matches with him in the past,” Federer assured. “All of them went the distance. Some of them I should have lost. He’s obviously got one of the best serves in the game.”
“I think against Roger, one thing that has sort of worked well for me, I try as much as I can not to play on Roger’s terms, to play on my own terms,” Raonic explained. “I have to go out there and do my job. Take care of my serve is number one. Really dictate or try to dictate as much as I can and go for it. Not give him too much rhythm.”
If the underdog serves extremely well, an upset is a remote possibility. Nonetheless, Federer’s experience in dealing with the Raonic serve can only help him, and he obviously is far more accustomed to the latter stages of Grand Slams.
Pick: Federer in 3
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Raonic might get a set I feel. Depends how well Fed serves.