FEDERER REMAINS IN RUTHLESS FORM, MOVES WITHIN REACH OF 1,000TH WIN BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 10th January 2015

FEDERER REMAINS IN RUTHLESS FORM, MOVES WITHIN REACH OF 1,000TH WIN BY RICKY DIMON

epa04550792 Roger Federer of Switzerland returns the ball to Australia's John Millman during their second round match at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 08 January 2015. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Roger Federer thrashed Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Brisbane International on Saturday, one day after destroying James Duckworth 6-0, 6-1. That means Federer is through to a second consecutive Brisbane final and has a chance to capture his first title at this event.

The 33-year-old Swiss now owns 999 match wins for his career.

“(I’d) love to get [No. 1,000] tomorrow, especially in the finals in an ATP event,” Federer assured. “It would definitely be an incredible milestone to reach.”

He is dominating the head-to-head series against Milos Raonic 7-1, including 4-1 on hard courts. Their most significant encounter came at Wimbledon in 2014, when Federer cruised through a semifinal showdown 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The 17-time Grand Slam champion followed that up with an easy win over Raonic in Cincinnati. Raonic finally earned his first victory at Federer’s expense via a 7-6(5), 7-5 decision in Paris that helped him qualify for the World Tour Finals, where Federer restored order to the series with a dominant 6-1, 7-6(0) performance during round-robin action in London.

“999 wins @rogerfederer Go for 1000! #Federer” – Photo by @tennis_always_

This week has not been an atypical one for Federer, who got a wakeup call early and then kicked things into high gear. The top seed trailed John Millman 6-4, 3-1 in his opener before overcoming the Australian wild card in three sets. He then crushed James Duckworth 6-0, 6-1 prior to his rout of Dimitrov. This is only Federer’s third appearance in Brisbane, where he finished runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt last season.

“Against Lleyton, when I had to go into the grind, I just didn’t have any more rhythm,” the world No. 2 reflected. “I think it’s going to be different this time around. I’m fresh for the finals; probably have a slight advantage over Milos in that regard.”

Raonic has required a pair of final-set tiebreakers to advance, although that is not a situation that has ever made him uncomfortable. After blasting past Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-4, the eighth-ranked Canadian edged Sam Groth 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(2) in the quarters and took out Kei Nishikori 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) on Saturday. Raonic fired 34 aces against Nishikori while serving at 69 percent.

Those numbers suggest the underdog will make this one competitive, but Federer is in outstanding form right now and for the most part has Raonic’s number.

Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after beating Australia’s James Duckworth in their quarter final match at the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 09 January 2015. EPA/DAVE HUNT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp, Brisbane, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

January 10, 2015 at 3:05 pm

-@rogerfederer REMAINS IN RUTHLESS FORM, MOVES WITHIN REACH OF 1,000TH WIN BY @Dimonator http://t.co/BEXEJneoX5 #tennis #BrisbaneTennis #ATP
Dimonator says:

January 10, 2015 at 3:30 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer REMAINS IN RUTHLESS FORM, MOVES WITHIN REACH OF 1,000TH WIN BY @Dimonator http://t.co/BEXEJneoX5 #tennis #…