Federer off to best start in 12 years
Roger Federer defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-4 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, and at 15-0 the world’s top-ranked men’s player is off to his best start since 2006.
The 36-year-old Swiss superstar can equal his season-best start of 16-0 with a win in the quarterfinals, where he will meet Chung Hyeon of South Korea in a rematch of their Australian Open semifinal.
“This might be the last day, so we’ll see,” Federer said, smiling. “Don’t jinx it.”
He advanced to the final in Melbourne when Chung retired in the second set trailing 6-1, 5-2 because of blisters on his left foot. Federer went on to win a five-set final against Marin Cilic for his 20th Grand Slam title.
Chung, seeded 23rd at Indian Wells, beat 30th-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-1, 6-3.
Since his Grand Slam breakthrough Down Under, Chung has been on a roll. He’s reached the quarterfinals or better in four of five tournaments and improved to 15-5 this year.
“I was honestly quite surprised how quickly he came back,” Federer said. “Because that thing looked nasty and it takes some time to heal. But he seems fine and he played a great match today. So I’m excited to play against him.”
Federer is chasing a record sixth title in the desert.
“Just playing really fast and good serve, good baseline,” Chung said of Federer. “He play everything good, so I’m just trying to enjoy on the court.”
Against Federer, Chardy played a tough first set in windy conditions that persisted throughout the day. /