Australian Open News: Federer Pulls a Great Escape, Barty Advances into the Semis

The quarterfinals of the 2020 Australian Open certainly lived up to the expectations of the fans, particularly the matches in the men’s half.

Roger Federer, aiming to the win the Slam for the 7th time, played the American Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday in front of an jam-packed arena. Despite starting as the overwhelming favourite, the odds were quickly shifted when Sandgren went up 2-1 with 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. The Swiss clearly lost his mojo in the second and third set of the match, Admittedly, it may have been because of the medical time out he took in the third set owing to a groin strain.

Fighting injury concerns, Federer eventually took the match into the fourth set, where he saved 3 match points while serving at 4-5. The Swiss maestro fought back the set eventually went into a tie-break, where he saved another 4 match points to stay in the set. After pulling off this stunning recovery, there wasn’t a lot that Sandgren could do.

The match lasted for three hours and 37 minutes, and saw the former World No. 1 take the final set with 6-3. In the post-match conference, he confessed to being lucky. This is also the second time that the number three seed found himself in a pickle in Melbourne: last week, he fought John Millman for five sets to reach the fourth round.

Djokovic will meet Federer again in a Grand Slam semifinal

Federer will now face Novak Djokovic in the semifinal, who moved past Milos Raonic in straight sets. The Serbian hasn’t dropped a set since the first round and looks in a menacing form. The Australian Open betting odds and tips for this one are far too enticing.

Barty Breezes Past Kvitova

In the women’s half, Ashleigh Barty defeated last year’s runner-up Petra Kvitova 7-6(8), 6-2, to reach the semis. Carrying the Australian hopes, she made easy work of the Czech and continued to establish her dominance and is now 4-0 in their last four meetings. She is also the first Australian since Wendy Turnbull in 1984 to reach the semifinal in Melbourne.

The 23-year-old cricketer-turned-tennis star won the French Open last year and since then, has become a regular part of the top 3. She also won the WTA Finals in November, making her primed to go the distance in the Australian Open. Standing in her way now is Sofia Kenin, who moved past Ons Jabeur with 6-4, 6-4.