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.
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jamesb
Guest
Federer to play in his 41st grand slam semi final.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, thanks for joining me this evening on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2017 Australian Open as Roger Federer advanced to the semi-finals. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. I'll be back tomorrow for the fourth quarter-final from 7:30pm (AEDT) as Milos Raonic takes on Rafael Nadal in what is sure to be a cracker. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Roger Federer will take on Stan Wawrinka in the first men's semi-finals at 7:30pm (AEDT) Thursday Night. That's going to be an absolute cracker.
Scott Pryde
Expert
GAME, SET, MATCH, ROGER FEDERER Well, that was just brutal. A big serve out wide and brutal forehand into the corner finishes it off, summing up the entire match which only took 92 minutes. Federer advances to his 41st grand slam final against countryman Stan Wawrinka. What a match that's going to be on Australia Day. Andrey Zverev 1 5 2 Roger Federer 6 7 6
Scott Pryde
Expert
Wide serve and that brings up match point with Zverev unable to return on the forehand. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 5 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Federer serves out wide. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 5 - deuce (1)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Zverev with a forehand into the net now. The next is a wide serve, bug forehand and then volley but into the net. Zverev has a break point opportunity now. Zverev 1 5 2 - 40 Federer 6 7 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from Federer before Zverev gets a return in and Federer attacks, but finds the net. Zverev 1 5 2 - 15 Federer 6 7 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Federer goes wide. Zverev 1 5 2 - 0 Federer 6 7 5 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Zverev with a big swing and miss at a regulation serve. Zverev 1 5 2 - 0 Federer 6 7 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Federer to come out and serve for the match now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Finally! It took over 10 minutes and 10 deuces, but the serve kicks into the body and Federer smokes the backhand down the line for the winner. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 5 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Fault from Zverev this time before Federer attacks the serve, gets it back in and Zverev finds the net on the volley. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 4 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Zverev 1 5 2 - deuce (10) Federer 6 7 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Federer now looks to attack the serve and hits it quite well back into the court. Zverev gets there, but it goes wide. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 4 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
Surely now! No! Federer hits the passing forehand wide. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 4 - deuce (9)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Volley to the corner now but it won't matter as Federer smacks the forehand down the line. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 4 - AD
Scott Pryde
Expert
This is some sort of service game. Federer now runs into an overhead volley and hits the winner. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 4 - deuce (8)
Scott Pryde
Expert
Zverev now shortens the length on his volley with Federer behind the baseline, and he can't get there. Zverev 1 5 2 - AD Federer 6 7 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Wide serve and returned into the net. Zverev 1 5 2 - Federer 6 7 4 - deuce (7)