Australian Open - Federer sets up Murray final

Reuters - Fri, 29 Jan 10:19:00 2010

Roger Federer provided a masterful demonstration of his incredible talent and hunger to win to overwhelm Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 6-3 6-2 and join Andy Murray in the final of the Australian Open.

Roger Federer of Switzerland waves after winning his semi-final match against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open - 0

The world number one was at his brilliant best as he outclassed his French opponent to wrap up a lop-sided victory in under an hour and a half at Melbourne Park.

Murray has been the form player over the past fortnight but Federer's imperious display will give the Scotsman a couple of sleepless nights before Sunday's final.

"I know he'd like to win the first for British tennis in... what is it ... like 150,000 years?" Federer joked.

"The poor guy has to go through those moments over and over again. He's done tremendously.

"We match up well. I'm looking forward to the final. First of all, he's a good player.

"But, no, without taking anything away from him, I think a few times he played me I wasn't at my very, very best. That's why I don't really care too much about how the head to head stands. Every match is played differently.

"Look, he's in his second Grand Slam final now. I think the first one's always a bit tougher than the second. But now that he didn't win the first one, I think doesn't help for the second one around.

"Plus he's playing me, who's won many grand slams prior to that, been able to win here three times so I know what it takes and how to do it, which is definitely an advantage.

"I don't feel like the pressure's really on me having to do it again, because I did it before. I think he really needs it more than I do, you know.

"But we'll see how he's gonna handle it. It's not going to be easy for him, that's for sure."

Federer has already won the Australian Open three times, in 2004, 2006 and 2007, and is now through to his fifth final after losing an epic five-set clash with Rafael Nadal last year.

The Swiss is also through to his 22nd Grand Slam final, more than any other man in history, and his eighth in a row.

A victory over Murray will provide the 28-year-old with his 16th Grand Slam, extending yet another record he holds.

"I thought (Tsonga) did really well in those five-set matches and I expected him to come out here and be really athletic the way we know him," a relaxed Federer said.

"Maybe he was mentally more fatigued than physically. I'm happy. I played solid. I didn't play exceptional. I did enough and I'm through. It's nice.

"No wasted energy that's for sure ... I'm very surprised at how the match went. I expected differently.

"Perhaps today was one of those days when he needed that first set. When I got it maybe his head went down."

Federer, growing in confidence with every match after a slow start to the championship, showed no mercy against a weary Tsonga, who had won his two previous matches in five sets.

"It was tough to play against him today," Tsonga said. "He took the ball earlier than me and he was just better than me. He was really good, and that's it."

Federer shows no sign of slowing down despite his haul of major trophies.

He broke Tsonga's erratic serve once to win the opening set then twice more in each of the next two while comfortably holding each of his service games.

Tsonga, who reached the Australian Open final two years ago but has yet to win a Grand Slam, did not get a single break point on the Swiss master's serve.

"I'm very happy. You've always got to deal with how your opponent plays. Sometimes he plays like you want, sometimes not," Federer said.

"It's nice going through like this but I already know the next match won't be this way."

Australian Open: Watch the finals LIVE on British Eurosport (Sky 410 / Virgin 521) and on Eurosport Player, where you can watch the matches on demand.

Reuters

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  1. I also noticed the fact that nobody concentrated on the­ match but rather on the post-match interview. How­ pathetic, when are you gonna start enjoying the match­ for what it was? Why do none of the british fans­ mention the fact that Roger Federer played the best­ match a tennis player has played in a long time? That­ he gave Tsonga a tennis lesson and never let him a­ chance to really get into the match.

    You Murray fans­ can ignore Roger's achievements and concentrate on­ a light-hearted interview, accuse him of being­ arrogant, and you can even support Murray all you want­ tomorrow, and no one will stop you. But there's a­ fact that can't change despite tomorrow's­ outcome: Federer Murray, cause Federer is the best­ tennis player of all-time.
    GO ROGER!

    From Samy, on Sat 30 Jan 20:40

  2. Federer commenting on how poor Murray is with the­ british media and the load they put in his shoulders­ ,he is right if you notice this GS the media decreased­ the load from Murray more than last year which every­ GShe goes in to he was the favouritre he just­ couldn't handle the pressure and go early ,this­ time he goes to the final , i am with him Murray is an­ excellent player deserve to win a GS but with this­ pressure it will be so hard , it is just a message to­ the mediaif you want him to win forget how many years­ you didn't win a GS
    i am still with Federer , I­ hope he will win isa it won't be easy as anyone­ before the final nor as USO 2008 but if he will do his­ best then anything will be acceptable and may be it­ will be the 16 isa

    From lola, on Sat 30 Jan 20:00

  3. Brilliant interview by Federer, and took the piss out­ of the English media, I note some incorrect comments,­ such as Murray is Scottish not english, several­ broadcasters have said they dislike Murray because­ "he doesnt like us" THESE BRITISH­ BROADCASTERS ARE ENGLISH and because Murray said he was­ Scottish first and british second many years ago goes­ to show how narrow minded these english are. Also some­ european people have commented on england (when they­ mean britain) then maybe we Celts should call europe­ Germany

    From p.lloyd142, on Sat 30 Jan 19:29

  4. venu t.....I don't know what you are doing on a­ sports site after reading your post. I see you­ had 4 thumbs up....I gave you one down.....You are a­ sheep going nowhere and 4 more sheep have agreed with­ you.
    This is why I laugh at the world­ today.......stupid sheep following more stupid sheep,­ and as soon as somebody has an original thought you all­ jump on top of him and denounce him as a racist or some­ other word you all took hold of. Get a life of­ your own or just disappear.

    From joeyashley25, on Sat 30 Jan 18:50

  5. After all is said and done, Federer is the winner and­ still number one. Do you people seriously believe­ that Murray is better than Federer ? LMAO. ­ Get out of the clouds and face reality.

    From joeyashley25, on Sat 30 Jan 18:21

  6. I'm so in love with myself.

    From Roger Narcissus Federer, on Sat 30 Jan 17:25

  7. if a joke can unsettle tennis players then probably we­ can start cracking jokes and win slams :-)

    From gopal, on Sat 30 Jan 16:20

  8. Fedex in straight sets and Henin too !!! come on

    From swordtail17, on Sat 30 Jan 15:56

  9. Federer rocks .No body can stop him.He is in great­ form.British people who sees this comment can rate me­ down but still i like roger federer than any.And do you­ guys know why davydenko lost.because of his boasting.he­ was boasting that no great player would stop him.Good­ luck for fed express.

    From Alexander, on Sat 30 Jan 15:55

  10. obviously some people here didn't watch or hear the­ interview... it was hilarious!
    GO MASTER FEDERER!

    From christopher, on Sat 30 Jan 14:32

  11. andy muuray is the most ready for a grandslam final a­ player has ever been, hes showed hunger as well as well­ as talent when u consider the players hes beaten so­ far, federer wud be the icing on the cake, he has the­ ability to pull it off, but its gonna be heck of a­ game, im realy lookin forward to this, cmon the­ murrray.

    From Kyzer, on Sat 30 Jan 13:40
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I honestly want Murray to win his first grand slam. But­ my only scepticism is that 'will I stand the­ British media in the UK? No I don't think so.­ Anyway good luck to you Andy.

    From SAHR, on Sat 30 Jan 11:39

  13. Well if people are critising Fed then they are making a­ big mistake.When something is more that u then please­ do accept,Fed is the best tennis palyer all round no­ matter what and i didn;t think he's arrogant in any­ way.Murray is a good player and winning for him on­ sunday or doesn't change the fact the Fed is better­ than all those playing tennis now and even before.23­ semis in a row and 22 slams final too is not like­ someone getting out of bed to have breakfast.There is­ no body out there taht will break the record he has­ created,i mean no one s o there should be no­ comparism.Even Nadal who has beat Fed more than any­ other player till date still respect him not bcos he­ defeated Fed but for what he has done and is still­ capable of doing.I reckon he will get to 16 slams if­ not this sunday bcos Murray has played very well and­ can still come out as the victor and vice versa.But i­ shall tell u something Murray has a boring game of all­ the best 10 i have watched for months and years.I rest­ my case

    From B.M., on Sat 30 Jan 8:55

  14. Oh dammit, don't you people have ANY sense of­ humor? Roger was clearly very happy with the outcome­ and was having a light-hearted interview. No need to­ twist words and turning them into something they're­ clearly not. It was a very fun interview.

    As to his­ performance, Roger came nothing short to perfection. He­ played sublime, flawless tennis!
    Good luck for the­ final Roger, the best ever!

    From Samy, on Sat 30 Jan 8:41
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Federer is arrogant very rarely praises other players -­ maybe he gets misquoted. I can't understand why­ more people don't get annoyed with this constant­ drone of 'I am the greatest' I find it skin­ crawlingly embarassing . I realize this is all­ psychology warfare but a bit of empathy towards other­ players wouldn't go amiss. From Paul

    From ROSINA, on Sat 30 Jan 7:30

  16. I thought it was a brilliant iterview. In fact, for a­ person who really did NOT like Courier as a player - he­ was at the start of the baseline era after the S &­ V players like Becker, Edberg & Cash - I think his­ interviewing skills are fantastic & he has made­ even Murray sound good & not boorish. They have­ to find something different to say at each interview­ and JC has been asking all sorts of irreverent­ questions. To those who cannot see that Roger's­ replies were all tongue-in-cheek, I think your sense of­ humour is sadly lacking.
    Roger knows full well that­ Sunday's match is not going to be a pushover, but­ for all us fans, we hope he comes out with his­ 'A' game & the result is like the last time­ they played at the 02 Arena last November. And­ certainly his comeback vs Davydenko and his near­ flawless performance today, should give him confidence­ and hopefully we won't see his form going down when­ he appears to be close to victory as we saw vs Tsonga­ in Melbourne and Del Potro at the USO We want the­ tenacious fighting spirit of his win vs Roddick at­ Wimbledon.

    From Diana, on Sat 30 Jan 7:16

  17. JEALOUS ONES WILL ALWAYS ENVY!!!

    From Ricki, on Sat 30 Jan 6:08
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Roger Narcissus Federer. here we go another fooking­ nob!!!

    From Ricki, on Sat 30 Jan 6:05

  19. Anyway my respect towards any nation doesn't depend­ on their achievements in sports... So I don't­ bother who wins :-)

    From gopal, on Sat 30 Jan 5:28

  20. Classy display from the greatest player of all time­ beyond doubt.
    People who did not like his interview­ have no humour!
    And if Murray irritates him it is no­ surprise given the scots attitute and the fact that the­ Murray obsessed media constantly ask Federer about­ Murray when he is not even playing! The greatest­ challenge to Federer in recent years has been Nadal and­ he has no problems with him in victory and defeat so­ that says all you need to know!
    Only thing left to say­ is come on the Fed expess and get Grand Slam 16!

    From nsrwa5, on Sat 30 Jan 5:16
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