Federer Reaches His 30th Major Final

Roger Federer is one match away from capturing a sixth Australian Open title, which would represent his 20th Grand Slam championship crown.

The Swiss superstar, the defending champion at Melbourne Park, booked his place in a 30th major final when leading 6-1, 5-2 against South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, the Next Gen ATP Finals winner, who retired due to a left foot complaint on Rod Laver Arena.

“I thought the first set was normal,” Federer told Jim Courier, in an on-court interview. “I couldn’t tell what was going on with my opponent. In the second set I felt he was getting slower. He’s had a problem with the blister. It hurts – a lot. At some point it’s too much and you make things worse. Clearly I’m happy to be in the final but not like this. He’s had such a wonderful tournament.

“Fighting was a problem today. I could tell something was wrong, but he has a great composure. I think he’s going to achieve next level excellence – Top 10 [in the ATP Rankings] for sure. I can see why he beat Novak (Djokovic) and Sascha (Zverev). He’s going to be a great, great player.”

The 36-year-old Federer will contest his seventh Australian Open final (5-1) against sixth-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic on Sunday night. It will be a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon final. Federer has an 8-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead over Cilic.

How The Australian Open Semi-final Was Won

First Set
Despite a lack of pace on serve, Chung maintained his position on the baseline as Federer tried to lift the power level early to break in the first game. Unsure of Federer’s service patterns, Chung continued to fight, but under a closed roof on Rod Laver Arena – as a result of rain – the Swiss star’s confidence grew in the controlled conditions. Federer, who had a closed practice earlier, worked on taking pace off the ball in the session. He moved to a 4-1 advantage when Chung struck a forehand long, and two games later – after Chung fired down an ace, then a double fault – Federer converted his fifth set point opportunity to take the 35-minute opener. Federer hit only 32 per cent of his first serves into court, but his 14 winners – and drawing Chung to the net – did the damage.

Second Set
Federer continued to show Chung the kind of level he needs in a major semi-final and broke for a 3-1 lead courtesy of a backhand winner past his Korean opponent. Chung received on-court treatment for a blister on his left foot after the fifth game – having won 19 of 51 baseline rallies. Two games later, Chung walked to the chair umpire to end the 63-minute encounter, the pain obviously too much.

Federer lost just one of his first-service points (15/16), converted four of his 11 break point opportunities and his 24 winners, including nine aces. World No. 58 Chung struck three double faults and six winners.

DID YOU KNOW?
Chung has the ninth-highest Return Rating on the ATP Stats Return LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys NIA Data.

Federer has the third-highest Serve Rating on the ATP Stats Serve LEADERBOARD, powered by Infosys NIA Data.