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2017 Australian Open Men's Singles, quarter-finals Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park Mischa Zverev vs Roger Federer |
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Giant killer Mischa Zverev will look to pull off another stunning upset in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open when he takes on Roger Federer, fresh off a five-set win. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7pm (AEDT).
Not for the first time this tournament, Zverev produced a stunning upset to keep his run to the back end alive, but it was his fourth round win that drew the most attention.
While victories over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Malek Jaziri in the first and third round were more or less expected, getting the better of John Isner in the second wasn’t, and beating Andy Murray was off the charts.
After battling with John Isner through three tie-breakers and a 9-7 final set, it was surprising that Zverev had the energy to continually fend off Murray and get through the brick wall of defence, but he used the net expertly, coming forward 118 times during the match, served to high percentages and found a way to get the job done.
The problem with facing Federer for the 29-year-old German is that he will need to have more than one gameplan because his opposition will have an answer to everything.
After starting the season at the Hopman Cup and looking in good form given he hadn’t played a match since Wimbledon, Federer got his Australian Open off to a shaky start with a four-set win over Jurgen Melzer.
The former world no.1 was a lot more dominant over his next two rounds though, going past Noah Rubin and tenth seed Thomas Berdych in straight sets.
He didn’t look phased in either of those matches but found himself down 5-1 during the first set to Kei Nishikori in the next round.
What Federer did next was simply stunning as he turned it around to recover from dropping the first set 7-5, to win the next two 6-4, 6-1 in the space of an hour. Federer might have dropped the fourth, but he had an answer for everything in the fifth, taking it 6-3.
The pair have only faced off on two previous occasions, with Federer taking them both. They provide no form guide into this match though, with those games coming on clay and grass in 2009 and 2013 respectively.
The winner of this match will advance to the semi-final and meet the winner of Stan Wawrinka and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, played earlier in the day.
Prediction
You can never write off a player who has just defeated the world no.1, but Federer is in some very strong form and has a lot more weapons on offence than Murray has.
Zverev will fight hard on the big stage, but will come up short. The question really, is whether he can pinch a set or not.
Federer in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this quarter-final from 7pm (AEDT) on Rod Laver Arena and don’t forget to add your own comments below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde