South Korean star Chung Hyeon dumped six-time champion Novak Djokovic out of the Australian Open on Monday in the fourth round.
The 21-year-old beat the battle-weary Serb, who was clearly in pain as he stretched for balls, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) and will face American Tennys Sandgren in the quarter-finals.
Federer eases into quarter-finals
Defending champion Roger Federer charged into his 14th Australian Open quarter-final with a straight-forward win over Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics on Monday.
The Swiss second seed was too strong for the 80th-ranked Fucsovics, winning 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in just over two hours on Rod Laver Arena. Federer will now face long-time rival Tomas Berdych in the last eight, holding a 19-6 lead over the Czech dating back to 2004.
It will also be Federer’s 52nd Grand Slam quarter-final, the most in the post-1968 Open Era.
It was the Swiss legend’s first meeting with Fucsovics, who spent a week in the off-season training with him in Switzerland.
“I thought he played very well. It was fast conditions, you have to have quick ideas and execute well and I thought he did that very well,” Federer said of his unheralded opponent.
On his next opponent, he said, ““I saw his matches, he’s been hitting the big shots. I am happy for him, he’s through his back issues from last year and I had a good match with him here in the third round last year,” Federer said.
“So I’m sure he wants to do it the other way round and make me pay for that one.”
Federer’s latest victory was his 91st in Melbourne to make the Australian Open his joint most successful Grand Slam in terms of matches won along with Wimbledon.
He wasn’t expected to encounter too much trouble with Fucsovics and so it proved with three service breaks, and no break points on his own service along with 34 winners.
The 36-year-old is bidding to win his 20th Grand Slam title and is the oldest man to reach the last eight at a major since American Jimmy Connors (39 years) at the 1991 US Open.
Tennys’ dream run continues
Unheralded American Tennys Sandgren upset Austria’s fifth seed Dominic Thiem over five sets to advance to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.
The 97th-ranked Sandgren won 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (7/9), 6-3 and will face either Novak Djokovic or Chung Hyeon in the last eight.
Berdych powers into the Open quarters for seventh time
Tomas Berdych powered past Fabio Fognini in straight sets to advance to the quarter-finals for a seventh time.
The Czech, seeded 19 and a two-time semi-finalist in Melbourne, downed the 25th seeded Italian 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in 2hr 8min on Margaret Court Arena. It will be his seventh quarter-final in his 15th Australian Open appearance. The Czech was in little trouble against the maverick Fognini, breaking the Italian’s serve six times, hitting 37 winners and offset with 20 unforced errors.
Berdych went into the match holding the record for the most number of Australian Open round of 16 appearances by a Czech man with 10 ahead of Ivan Lendl’s eight. He improved his record to 44-14, representing his most successful major tournament in terms of matches won and quarter-finals reached.
On being asked about facing Federer again, he smiled and said “What to say? How many times is it going to be? So let’s see who’s going to win. I have no choice to choose the opponent and may the better man win.”
“I am going to get myself ready, it’s all I can do, and prepare the best I can. So far I think I’ve done pretty well, I’m feeling good, healthy, so I feel I am on the best base line I can be”
With AFP inputs
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