Idol Federer pushed by fan Rubin

MELBOURNE: When the on-court announcer introduced qualifier

Noah Rubin

, he said the 20-year-old's favourite player was standing across the net from him. Roger Federer, 35, wearing florescent shoes, which for all its brightness didn't match the Swiss' aura.

This second-round clash of the

Australian Open

then promised to be a `favourite and the fan boy' feature. A ride in the park for

tennis

' magician, who can make tough look easy , whose play flows like a p downstream river, smooth and sparkling. i Rubin, ranked 200 in the world, had b a dream though.

That he would play one a of the fab four -Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal -in m the second round of a major, after playing a qualifier in the first; sharpen his B strokes and harden his mind before the test. So, when he won the toss and elected to receive, a few cynical eyebrows L around courtside rose questioningly.

“I wanted to see what he had in him. I had watched him before, never seen it firsthand,“ Rubin, a junior Wimbledon m champion (2014) who is coached by Robbby Ginepri, a US Open semifinalist, said. Rubin impressed the man whose imprints are all over the sport. Federer won in a little over two hours, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), but the New Yorker played his heart out and even led Federer 5-2 in third set.
Federer, coming back after six months on the sidelines, following a knee injury, will play Czech Tomas Berdych in the third round on Friday.

Women's top-seed Angelique Kerber, who turned 29 on Wednesday, had Rod Laver Arena sing happy birthday to her after her hard-fought 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 twohour eight-minute win over compatriot Carina Witthoeft. In men's second round matches, world No. 1 Andy Murray blasted past Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.