The Hindu : Sport : The Roger Federer show continues

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The Roger Federer show continues

Nirmal Shekar

Roddick outguns Safin; Serena at her fighting best against Petrova

Melbourne: The man has a beautiful mind _ that's the source of all the breathtaking, seemingly supernatural, but in actual fact wonderfully natural, aesthetic perfection that Roger Federer conjures up on a tennis court.

You see those dancing feet on the baseline and think of a Nureyev in his pomp, you see the wrist and racquet _ making up a most intimate and productive relationship quite unlike any other in the entire history of the game _ combine almost magically and think of a Michelangelo with a chisel.

As Federer plays a brand of tennis that stirs responses rarely touched by sport, you also admire the champion's easy, relaxed attitude on court.

And then you think, often open-mouthed: how is all this possible? This, even on a day such as Friday in the third round of the Australian Open, when the maestro was not at his best while dismissing Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(5) from yet another of his fiefdoms.

Master's mind

It's the master's mind, a beautiful mind, that is the source of everything _ every single thing that, in combination with others, has turned foes into fans, TV commentators into drooling admirers and sportswriters into unabashed eulogists.

Time, and greater opponents than currently active at the top in the men's game, may combine at some point to dismantle the beauty of the Federer phenomenon but until that happens it may not be unwise to lap it all up greedily.

Certainly, no man has ever made an unforced error look quite as beautiful as does Federer. Some of those backhands he mishit against Youzhny, had they come from another man, might have had you reacting: Gosh, that was a terrible shot. In Federer's case, you look at the perfect positioning of the feet, the bent knees and the arc of the racquet and say to yourself: that was lovely, who cares if he lost the point! It was that kind of a day, a day when Federer made 33 unforced errors in three sets but still made it all look very easy against a man who had featured in the semifinals of the last Grand Slam event, the 2006 U.S. Open.

Befuddled

Sure in his mind that Youzhny might turn out to be a dangerous opponent if he did not mix things up, Federer never gave the Russian a chance to settle down in the first two sets, employing a variety of tactics to befuddle Youzhny.

It was only when Youzhny hit a superb backhand down the line to break Federer's serve for the first time in the match, in the seventh game of the third set, that something resembling a contest was on hand. But Federer was never under any threat in the tiebreak. In eight matches, Federer has lost two sets to Youzhny.

The world champion was so relaxed after the match that he found himself answering questions _ he was interviewed on court by Jim Courier _ that had nothing to do with tennis.

Wonderful experience

"India is an amazing country. I loved it. It was a wonderful experience,'' said Federer, who was in India recently as a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador to review the tsunami rehabilitation work in coastal Tamil Nadu.

In the fourth round, Federer will play Novak Djokovic, a 6ft 2in 19-year old Serbian who climbed from No.83 to No.16 last year and is being widely touted as the next big thing in the men's game.

"Seems like he is playing good, it is a dangerous match for me,'' said Federer. "Played him twice last year. Beat him both times. Usually when I beat a guy twice, I know how to play him.''

No surprise

Earlier, an unseeded American woman saw off the fifth seeded Russian Nadia Petrova with a remarkable comeback at the Rod Laver Arena.

But, then, when the said unseeded player happens to be a two-time former Australian champion and the winner of six Grand Slam singles titles, this is not a huge surprise.

Serena Williams, who won the third round contest 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, was at her fighting best against the Russian who served for the match in the second set. On a comeback following an injury-plagued season, Serena won four games in a row to knot up the match _ Petrova double faulted on setpoint _ and ran away with the third set and the match in quick time.

"I wasn't surprised,'' said Serena. "I think if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.''

Sania-Garrigues advance

In the women's doubles competition, Sania Mirza and Annabel Medina Garrigues, seeded 10, beat Ekaterina Bychkova and Martina Muller 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the third round.

Agencies report

Sixth seed Andy Roddick outgunned former champion Marat Safin 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the first heavyweight clash of the Open on Friday.

Roddick took control of the third-round match when he stormed through the first-set tiebreak 7-2 and although Safin hit back to level in a second set featuring four breaks of serve, the American kept his composure.

He made a late break in the third set and dominated the fourth-set tiebreak, sealing it 7-2 on his first match point to wrap up victory in three hours and 12 minutes.

Easy for Paes-Damm

Later in a men's doubles match, the pairing of Leander Paes and Martin Damm easily advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the Asutralian combination of Nathan Healey and Robert Smeets.

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