Federer
Defending two-time champion Roger Federer was pushed to the limit early in his second round match by Dan Evans but the third seed held firm to seal a straight-sets victory.
Evans gave a reminder of just what a talented tennis player he is by giving the 20-time Grand Slam champion a severe test of his championship credentials.
The 28-year-old from Birmingham reached his career high two years ago by defeating Marin Cilic in Melbourne to make the fourth round before his two-year ban for taking cocaine.
He has worked his way back to 189 in the rankings in less than a year and should return quickly to the top 100 if he can maintain the form he showed here in a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 defeat.
Federer, who extended his winning run to 16 matches in Melbourne, said he felt he was playing a “mirror” image of himself.
“I think I couldn’t pull away early in the match,” he said. “I think he played very well. It was hard to pull away and that’s to his credit. I was happy to win the first set, that was big.
“It feels like playing a mirror a little bit. He has a lot of slice backhand on the return, he can serve and volley. I maybe just have a little bit more size and a bit more on my serve and maybe that was the difference.”
Federer, who is going for a record seventh Melbourne Park title and third in a row, will play Taylor Fritz in the last 32 after the American outlasted France’s Gael Monfils 6-3 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).
