AUSTRALIA, FEDERER’S LAND OF TWENTY
ROGER FEDERER bids to win his 20th grand slam title tomorrow and the chance to show off more silverware to his friends. Federer faces Marin Cilic in the Australian Open final, a repeat of their Wimbledon clash which saw the Croat reduced to tears.
Cilic was unable to perform at his best in the July showpiece because of blisters and ironically it was the same injury to young South Korean Chung Hyeon (right) that allowed Federer a stress-free route through to the 144th Tour final of his career.
The Swiss superstar has won 95 of them and admitted he likes looking at the fruits of his labour.
He said: “I have them at home. Not all of them. I have a nice trophy cabinet. Sometimes I go through it and think, ‘Wow’ and sometimes I’m like, ‘It’s just tennis’.
“When we have friends round it’s cool to look at Olympic medals and trophies. It’s something I’ve worked very hard for.”
Cilic and Federer’s most recent meeting was in the Maldives two months ago when they met for a hit on the courts where both were staying with their families on holiday.
Federer, 36, said: “I was there first and he arrived later on the island. I was told that Marin was coming. I was like,
‘Oh, that’s cool’.
“After two days, he wrote to me, ‘I’m here too, in case you want to catch up and stuff, let me know’. I was like, ‘Sure, let me know if you want to hit’.
“He was eager to hit because it’s good to stay in the rhythm for both of us. We also met up later for drinks. We had a good time. We actually went to practice twice for 45 minutes. It was great fun. “No coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on court hitting balls. It was just nice and laid back. To get to know the man behind the tennis player, I guess.” Federer eased into the final and was probably tested more in his holiday knock with Cilic than by 21-year-old Chung, the first Korean to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.
Chung quit while trailing 6-1 5-2, with his agent Stuart Duguid saying: “It’s worse than regular blisters. Over the last few days, it was blister under blister under blister.”
Federer said: “The first set was normal, I couldn’t tell what was going on with my opponent. In the second set I felt he was getting slower, fighting with the blisters.
“I’ve played with blisters in the past and it hurts a lot. At one point it’s too much. It’s better to stop. This feels bitter-sweet. I’m happy to be in the finals, but not like this.”
There were a few boos as Chung threw in the towel, but he said: “It really hurt. I can’t walk any more. I think I did the right thing.”