Federer needs to quickly fine tune
ROGER Federer’s quest for a third successive Australian Open crown – and 100th career title – will depend on how quickly the Swiss champion adapts to the tournament’s new Dunlop balls.
Federer says the balls behave differently in the cooler, heavier night conditions – when the semi-finals and finals are played – and do not allow players to “out-spin” rivals.
John Millman and Bernard Tomic have questioned the quality of the balls.
Dunlop replaced Wilson as the ball supplier this year.
Ever diplomatic, Federer said: “Well, they definitely play a touch different to the ones we’ve had the last couple years.
“I do see what they’re (other players) saying.
“At night the spin is not taking off tremendously.
“I think, yeah, for me, I definitely have to go through a minor adjustment maybe from Perth, which was a faster court. It’s hard to out-spin guys here.
“As they changed the finals also to a night session, and the semis also night sessions, I just feel like it’s really important to have fast enough courts for night session conditions as the main matches are being played there.
“If you keep it slow, slow, at night the ball doesn’t move.”
Federer posted his 96th win from 109 outings at Melbourne Park, but seemed to lack trademark incision in overcast conditions against Dan Evans.
Federer, bidding for a 21st major, has no issue with the court speed.
“From that standpoint I think they have done a nice job of speeding up the courts,” he said.
“Now the ball, honestly it’s still early in the tournament to exactly tell you how it feels exactly.
“I still feel like you can serve your way out of trouble from the baseline.
“You can spin and slice, all that stuff we saw today.
“It is true, you can’t out-spin a guy here. I think that’s clear.”
Yet to drop a set in the tournament, Federer unleashed 56 winners and 11 aces against the plucky Evans.
The third seed will next face US talent Taylor Fritz, who dispatched French 30th seed Gael Monfils in four sets.