AFP, Melbourne :
Swiss great Roger Federer swept past Grigor Dimitrov to bring up 300 Grand Slam match wins and safely reach the fourth round at the Australian Open on Friday.
The 17-time major winner and third seed won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in two hours, 40 minutes under the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena and will face Belgium’s 15th seed David Goffin in the next round.
Federer becomes the first man to win 300 Grand Slam matches and extends his record over Bulgarian 27th seed Dimitrov, dubbed “Baby Fed” because of the similarity in their playing styles, to 5-0.
Last year Federer was ambushed in the third round by Italian Andreas Seppi, but he made no mistake this time at the same stage against Dimitrov.
But it wasn’t an entirely convincing display from the four-time Australian Open winner who committed an uncharacteristic 55 unforced efforts, much more than Dimitrov’s 44.
“It was a difficult position for me after losing the second set and Grigor was playing well. I thought I was struggling a little bit,” Federer said.
Swiss great Roger Federer swept past Grigor Dimitrov to bring up 300 Grand Slam match wins and safely reach the fourth round at the Australian Open on Friday.
The 17-time major winner and third seed won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in two hours, 40 minutes under the closed roof on Rod Laver Arena and will face Belgium’s 15th seed David Goffin in the next round.
Federer becomes the first man to win 300 Grand Slam matches and extends his record over Bulgarian 27th seed Dimitrov, dubbed “Baby Fed” because of the similarity in their playing styles, to 5-0.
Last year Federer was ambushed in the third round by Italian Andreas Seppi, but he made no mistake this time at the same stage against Dimitrov.
But it wasn’t an entirely convincing display from the four-time Australian Open winner who committed an uncharacteristic 55 unforced efforts, much more than Dimitrov’s 44.
“It was a difficult position for me after losing the second set and Grigor was playing well. I thought I was struggling a little bit,” Federer said.
