Roger that! Swiss ace amazed that Fed express stays on track for final
ROGER FEDERER last night admitted he was surprised to reach the Australian open semifinals.
The Swiss reached the last four after swatting aside Andy Murray’s conqueror Mischa Zverev to reach his 41st Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open.
The 35-year-old, whose last major triumph came at Wimbledon in 2012, cruised to a 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 victory on Rod Laver Arena and will now face Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss showdown for a place in Sunday’s final. Federer is still on the comeback trail after six months out with injury, but has also beaten Tomas Berdych and then Kei Nishikori en route to the last four.
“My expectation was not to be playing Stan in the semis,” Federer said. “I thought I was maybe going to win a few rounds, fourth round, quarters, that was my expectation if the draw was okay.
“I never thought it would be this good but here I am standing with Stan at the semis.”
Wawrinka certainly represents a formidable challenge, the US Open champion and arguably most dangerous player left in the draw given he has won three Slams in as many years.
The 31-year-old, however, has often struggled to find his best against Federer, his friend and mentor, with whom he won the Davis Cup in 2014.
Federer added: “He’s won a Slam for the last three years. For me, I’ve got to stay aggressive, the more time I give him the better he is. He’s the biggest hitter in the game right now.”