Federer advances after sluggish start; Gauff ’s run ended
MELBOURNE, Australia — Roger Federer needed some time to get going in the Australian Open’s fourth round, a match after a draining and difficult escape in which he was two points from defeat.
To be precise, he required a full set to get sorted.
After seeming sluggish while dropping the opener, Federer quickly righted himself and pushed through the next three sets without a hitch, reaching the 57th Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career by coming back to beat Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday.
In the first set, Fucsovics noted, “Roger was missing a lot.”
But Federer, as he himself put it, “Finally found a way. Had a good start to the second set and eventually it became easier.”
When he takes on Tennys Sandgren, a 28-year-old from Tennessee, on Tuesday, it’ll be the 38year-old Federer’s record 15th quarterfinal at the Australian Open. He has won the title at Melbourne Park a half-dozen times, part of his men’s-record 20 major championships.
Federer kidded around about Sandgren’s sport-appropriate first name; he is named after his greatgrandfather.
“He was not going to be a baseball player, that’s for sure,” Federer told the Rod Laver Arena crowd through a wide smile during his post-match interview.
Then, doubling down, Federer went on: “I’ve never played against Tennys. Played a lot of tennis in my life, but never against Tennys.”
Sandgren is into the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second time in three years after beating 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini in four sets in a heated match on Melbourne Arena.
The other quarterfinal on that side of the bracket is defending champion Novak Djokovic against No. 32 Milos Raonic of Canada.
Also, two-time French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem beat Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to book a quarterfinal spot at the Australian Open for the first time.
The fourth-round matchups Monday: No. 1 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 23 Nick Kyrgios, No. 4 Daniil Medvedev vs. three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, and No. 7 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 17 Andrey Rublev.
On the women’s side, Coco Gauff’s latest history-making Grand Slam run at age 15 ended with a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0 loss in the fourth round to Sofia Kenin.
Like Gauff, Kenin is a young — although, at 21, not quite as young — American and she reached her first major quarterfinal with the victory.
“I just needed to calm down, relax, try my best and fight,” the 14thseeded Kenin said. “I’m just so speechless.”
In her previous match, the 67thranked Gauff beat Naomi Osaka to become the youngest player in the professional era to defeat the reigning women’s champion at the Australian Open. At Wimbledon last year, Gauff became the youngest qualifier ever at that tournament, beat Venus Williams in the first round and made it all the way to the fourth.
Entering Sunday, Gauff was 8-2 in Grand Slam action, with her only losses to women who have been ranked No. 1 and own multiple major titles: Simona Halep (at Wimbledon) and Osaka (at the U.S. Open).
“I couldn’t really write this,” Gauff said. “I don’t think anybody could really write how this past (several) months have gone.”
Top-ranked Ash Barty advanced to the quarterfinals as she attempts to become the first Australian woman to win her national championship since Chris O’Neill in 1978.
Barty beat American Alison Riske 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena, breaking Riske’s serve in the final game when Riske double-faulted on match point.
French Open champion Barty will play her quarterfinal match on Tuesday against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who beat Barty in the quarterfinals last year at Melbourne Park.
Halep, the Wimbledon champion, reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open with a straight-sets win over Elise Mertens.
Halep appeared to be cruising after winning the first set and going up a service break in the second, but Mertens broke back to level the second set at 4-4. Halep responded by converting her fifth break-point chance in the next game and served out at love to clinch the match.
No. 4-seeded Halep reached the Australian Open final in 2018 and won her first major title at the French Open that year.