Quick across the court and certain with his racket, Federer’s form will be a threat to Andy Murray’s hopes of a second slam.
The exploration is all but done, the field pruned to the favourites and the quality dreamers. And it is hard to escape the conclusion that Roger Federer, who rested his bones for two months before this Australian Open, might conjure up his 18th Grand Slam title here next weekend, at 31.
The Federer who beat Bernard Tomic in the third round on Saturday was all but indistinguishable from the Federer who won the title in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010.
The ball left his racket with killing certainty, the legs moved as lightly as they ever have done. He was balletic and brutal. If he can repeat that performance against Milos Raonic, there will be cause for mild panic on his side of the draw, where Andy Murray resides.
Murray, on the other hand, started well in the tournament before his timing briefly deserted him in a ragged rebuttal of Ricardas Berankis in three sets.
He can fix that and he has the added authority now of a slam title to his name. It has made a considerable difference but Australia is where he has left the most shattered in the past. It is here where he must kill those memories.
I tipped him to win – and I’m sticking by the prediction – but the levels have to rise now. There is no room from this point on for marginal tennis.
And the champion? Novak Djokovic has hardly been tested.
His blip in the Hopman Cup against Tomic was probably just that. If he is fit – and there is no reason to doubt it – he has plenty left in the tank.
Tomic, meanwhile, has no doubt who is going to be crowned 2013 champion: “I’m barracking for Roger to win. It’s always a good feeling, if you lose to the champion.” – Guardian
