Sweet revenge for Rafa as de Minaur downed to keep legend's Madrid fairytale alive
Alex de Minaur has missed out on the chance of a lifetime to beat Rafael Nadal on clay in successive tournaments, blown away by…
In an extraordinary twist, ageless champion Roger Federer is suddenly the new Australian Open favourite.
The 35-year-old father of four is contesting his first official tournament in six months following a career-threatening injury-enforced layoff.
But after backing up his third-round schooling of 10th seed Tomas Berdych with a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-3 defeat of fifth seed Kei Nishikori on Sunday night, Federer now has the backing of bookmakers around the world.
The Swiss great’s vintage form and the shock exits of Sir Andy Murray and six-times champion Novak Djokovic – marking the first time in 15 years the top two seeds have bowed out – have conspired to have Federer installed as Open favourite at the tornament’s halfway point.
Such as scenario was unthinkable a week ago as Murray, the newly-knighted and newly-elevated world No.1, and Djokovic arrived in Melbourne eyeing their own special places in tennis history.
Instead, Federer – who harboured only modest expectations before embarking on his 18th consecutive Open tilt – will play Mischa Zverev in the quarter-finals on Tuesday after the unheralded German sent Murray packing on Sunday.
Hunting down an elusive 18th grand slam crown – five years after landing his record 17th – Federer could strike fourth-seeded countryman Stan Wawrinka or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals.
The winner of the top half of the draw will likely line up against either third seed Milos Raonic or eighth seed Dominic Thiem in the final – or Rafael Nadal if the two grand slam titans can each win two more matches.
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