Australian Open: Wizard of Oz

MELBOURNE: Roger Federer uses his racket like a brush, picking spots, painting lines and coloring the court. On Tuesday , before an appreciative audience at the Rod Laver Arena, he also showed how much he loves a target. Worshiping it l as a deity, unfailing line and uncompromising angles, electric and effusive, stopping net rusher Mischa Zverev in his tracks in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Federer won 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 in 1 hour and 32 minutes to move j into the semifinals where he'll play his heavy-hitting compatriot Stan Wawrinka in what will be the 35-year-old superstar's 13th last-four appearance in Melbourne Park.
Still Federer, the father of four, who is here with his whole family, is on borrowed time. Till earlier this week, his seven-year-old twin daughters l Myla Rose and Charlene Riva pleaded with `daddy' not to lose because they were having a good time in the sun, but on Tuesday , one of them told him she'd be happy to return to Switzerland anytime and ret sume her skiing. He may have held off his daughters for the time being, but the 17-time Grand Slam winner, who is returning to the Tour after six months on the sidelines, is surprised to still be in the draw.
“Winning back-to-back matches in best-of-five sets against quality players. That's been the big question mark, if I could do that so early in my comeback,“ Federer said.
A combination of his own rioting nerves and raging bril iance from the other side of the net did Mischa in. “I think he did not really let me play . It was definitely hard to read where he's going, where he's returning,“ the 29-year-old, who rushed the net 90 times, winning just 44 points, said. “He ust has so many more options.“
If the first set went in a blast of nervous energy for the German who idolises the Swiss, holding serve once in the sixth game, there was some exchange in the second set, with the 29-year-old Mischa, ranked 50, even taking a 3-1 lead when he broke the Swiss in the fourth game. Federer came back strong y, going at his younger opponent on his first outing at this stage of a major, breaking him in the very next game and again in the 11th.
If the second set pointed to a closer race in the third set, it was only a teaser. Federer used he first couple of games to get his returns going, then he struck with a forehand on his second opportunity in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. That's not to say Mischa didn't have his moments in the match, but they were like needles in a hay stack, simply didn't count.
The Zverev family -father Alexander (Sr) a former pro, mother Irena a tennis coach and younger brother Alexander `Sascha', 19, ranked 24, the closest foursome in tennis today -were in quiet conference in the stands. But for Mischa, who with a of combination of injury woes and lack of motivation saw his rankings drop out of the 1000s before climbing to a top-50 position, the quarters of a major is reward for a dedicated journey .