Roger Federer's incredible praise for Aussie young gun
Roger Federer has levelled an incredible piece of praise on Aussie young gun Alex de Minaur after he advanced through to the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Speaking after his victory over Taylor Fritz, the Swiss Maestro labelled De Minaur a possible top five talent, but wouldn’t go so far as backing the youngster in his showdown with Rafael Nadal on Friday night.
“Alex has done great,” Federer said.
“I think we all admire how quick he is and his work ethic – not that we don’t have it, but you just see it more with him.
“I think he’s doing a really nice job (at the Australian Open), it’s never easy to compete and win at home to be honest and he did that back-to-back years now.
“He’s showed that he’s gonna be somebody who’s gonna be probably at the top (of the game) for a long time, is he gonna be top 20, top 10, top five?
“I don’t know but tonight (against Nadal) is gonna be the moment to shine I think, I still favour Rafa just because it’s Rafa and I love the guy so I think it’s gonna be an interesting matchup.”
Kyrgios lauds Fed’s effort in commentary
Nick Kyrgios has lauded Roger Federer’s opening set against Taylor Fritz as the best set of tennis he’s ever seen as momentum builds behind the Swiss legend’s bid for a record seventh Australian Open crown.
Federer defeated the 21-year-old American 6-2 7-5 6-2 on Friday to move through to the fourth round for the 17th time in his past 18 visits to Melbourne Park.
In muggy conditions under the Rod Laver Arena roof, Federer came out blazing to set up a last-16 clash with emerging Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kyrgios, on debut in the commentary box for broadcasters Channel Nine, told Todd Woodbridge that the first set was the “best set of tennis” he’d watched.
“It was,” he said, “From here, it was just Federer playing too good.
“Federer’s timing is scary good. He almost hits everything on the half-volley.
“(Fritz) is playing some really good tennis, he’s just caught Federer on a really good day.”
Fritz, 16 years Federer’s junior, managed just 13 points in Federer’s first-set demolition when the No.3 seed served at 92 per cent and made just two unforced errors.
The American picked up his act and pushed Federer in the second set, but when the big points arrived Federer was irrepressible.
“He’s zoning at the moment. He’s so relaxed. It’s so tough for Taylor to do anything really,” Kyrgios said.
Fritz was literally spun out by Federer at one stage, doing a 360 rotation on court as he looked to return a surprising shot.
A spectacular third-set drop shot particularly delighted Kyrgios – no surprise given his own eye for the spectacular.
“Oh my goodness. Butter. So smooth,” the Canberran said.
Of course, Kyrgios is no stranger to seeing Federer up close.
Kyrgios stunned the tennis world by winning their first meeting in Madrid four years ago, but hasn’t tasted success since.
He has since lost five times to the veteran, including a straight-sets dismissal in under two hours at the 2018 US Open – a round before John Millman’s triumph over the Swiss.
The Aussie ace was a first-round loser at Melbourne Park, falling to a hyped-up Milos Raonic.
Federer, however, is marching on after another dominant performance on serve, failing to even face a break point.
“I wanted to get out of the block quickly because I knew of the threat of Taylor,” Federer said.
“I had extra focus to make sure I got off to that quick start.
“I had a really good feeling out here today against someone who can be very dangerous in the future.”
With AAP