2020 in Review: Roger Federer eases past Filip Krajinovic

World no. 3 and the six-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer reached the third round in Melbourne for the 21st time in as many appearances, beating Filip Krajinovic 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 32 minutes! It was another dominant performance from the winner of two out of the previous three Australian Opens, firing 42 winners and 14 unforced errors to have the upper hand from start to finish and earn the 99th Melbourne's victory. The Swiss lost 19 points behind the initial shot and got broken only once, securing seven breaks from 14 opportunities to mount the pressure on Filip and seal the deal in no time, like against Johnson in the opening round. Roger was flying over the court in the opening set, striking 13 winners and four unforced errors and giving away only five points in his games to topple the rival who couldn't match those numbers.

Federer grabbed a break in the second game when Krajinovic sent a backhand long, held at 30 in the next one to confirm the advantage and delivered another return game with a forehand winner that sent him 4-0 ahead. The Swiss landed another forehand winner to clinch the fifth game in 15 minutes and held at love at 5-1 to secure the opener in no time, hoping for more in the rest of the clash. Unable to find his strokes, Filip got broken at the beginning of the second set when his backhand found the net, with Roger moving 2-0 up after an ace down the T line. The Swiss produced another quick hold to open a 3-1 advantage, wasting two break chances in game five and facing the first trouble on serve in the next one.

Roger Federer defeated Filip Krajinovic in straight sets in Melbourne.

Federer saved a break point and closed the game to move 4-2 ahead before Krajinovic pulled the break back with a forced error in game eight, playing well in those moments. The Serb wasted everything in game nine, spraying a volley error at the net to suffer a break and allowing the Swiss to close the set with a service winner in game ten and move closer to the finish line after an hour. Krajinovic opened the third set with a double fault and svaed a break chance in the third game to remain within one break deficit. The Serb received the medical timeout after the third game on his right arm and suffered another break at 15 in game five. Roger forged a 5-1 advantage with an ace and sealed the deal with a forehand winner on the return a few minutes later to secure a place in the last 32.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3lPsyKG