Fedrer, Cilic, Berdych, enter 3rd of AO, Tiafoe stuns Anderson

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Patna : World No 3 in ATP rankings and six time champion Roger Federer, 37, Switzerland, World No 7 Marin Cilic, 30, Croatia, and World No 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas, 20, Greece, advanced to the Round of 32 of Australian Open (AO) on January 16, 2019. But, World No 39 Frances Tiafoe, 20, USA, stunned World  No 6 Kevin Anderson, 32, South, in the Round of 64 in a massive upset in the tournament.

Federer, bidding for his 7th AO crown, beat World No 189 Dan Evans, 28, Great Britain, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a tough contest. Federer fired 11 Aces in the match to 4 by Evans, a qualifier. Federer won 2 break points in the match to 1 by Evans. Both the players won 3 games each in a row in the match. But, Federer’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve ( 84% & 67% respectively) was much better than that of Evans, who had reached 4th round of AO 2017.

Tiafoe upset Anderson, the 2018 Wimbledon and 2017 US Open finalist, in a four-set thriller 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the Round of 64 on January 16. Anderson fired 13 Aces in the match to 10 by Tiafoe. Anderson, however, committed 4 double faults to 2 by Tiafoe. Tiafoe’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve ( 80% & 59 %) was better than that of Anderson ( 73 % & 55 %). Tiafoe also won 4 break points to 2 by Anderson. Anderson though won 5 games in a row to 3 by Tiafoe. Adnderson had reached 4th round of AO in 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Cilic, the 2018 AO finalist and winner of US Open singles title in 2014, beat World No 81 Mackenzie McDonald, 23, USA, in a tough four- set contest 7-5, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in Round of 64. Cilic hammered 25 Aces in the match to 9 by McDonald. Cilic, however, committed 6 double faults to 2 by McDonald. Cilic’s winning percentage on both his first and second serve ( 78 % & 54 %) was better than that of McDonald. Cilic though won 6 break points to 3 by his rival. He won 3 games in a row to 2 by McDonald.

Tsitsipas beat World No 200 Viktor Troicki, 32, Serbia, in a tough four-set encounter 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Round of 64. Tsitsipas fired 14 Aces in the match to 8 by Troicki. He also won 4 break points to 2 by Troicki. Both the players won 5 games each in a row.

World No 28 Fernando Verdasco, 35, Spain, defeated World No 98 Radu Albot, 29, Moldovia, 6-1, 7-6, 6-3 in the Round of 64 on January 16 to advance to Round of 32. Verdasco won 5 break points to 2 by Albot. Verdasco served 4 Aces to 2 by Albot. He won 5 games in arrow in the match while Albot won 3.

World No 57 and 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Baerdych, 33, Czech Republic, beat World No 58 Robin Hasse, 31, Netherlands, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 to enter the Round of 32. Berdych won 5 break points in the match besides winning 5 games in a row. Berdych had reached AO semi-finals in 2014 and 2015.